Area Commands US Army, EuropeLooking for more information from military/civilian
personnel assigned to or associated with the U.S. Army
in Germany from 1945 to 1989. If you have any
stories or thoughts on the subject, please email me (webmaster).

Looking for assistance: need original or scanned copies of maps of Area Command, support districts, support activities, military communities and installations for further research.

A
Brief History Of The Area Commands
In Germany

The
following text is from an historical manuscript (probably a
command briefing) that was supplied to me in the early 1980s
by the USAREUR Military History Office in Heidelberg. Their
support of my research efforts over the years and the great
assistance provided to me by many other offices within USAREUR
(primarily PAO) is greatly appreciated.

NOTE: Maps and other graphics mentioned in the text will be added as soon as I reproduce them. Due to the poor quality of the photocopy that I have, a scan of most of the maps is not feasible.

1.
Historical Background
On 8 May 1945 (VE Day), there existed in Europe a far-flung
supply system that had developed in the more than three
years of American effort to defeat the Axis forces. Supplies
shipped from the United States flowed through European ports
to dispersed depots, from which they moved to U.S. military
users and consumers.

Since the war in Europe was an allied effort, Supreme Headquarters
Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) exercised general supervision
over the entire supply system. For certain classes of supplies
-- notably solid fuels and petroleum products -- SHAEF made
the overall allocations to the several allied national forces,
as well as to the civilian economies. Nevertheless, in general,
supplies flowed through national supply channels, and U.S.
supply policy was, for the most part, controlled by Headquarters,
European Theater of Operations US Army (ETOUSA), which,
like SHAEF, was commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Operationally, U.S. wartime supply was the responsibility
of the Communications Zone (COMZ), in whose Paris headquarters
were the offices of the theater chiefs of services. The
service chiefs exercised technical control over their service
supplies and supervised the operation of base, intermediate,
and advance sections. In turn, the chiefs of these sections
had responsibility for the supply operations and supply
installations in their designated areas.

Immediate supply support for the armies came from the COMZ
Advance Section (ADSEC) and Continental Advance Section
(CONAD), which extended their activities into Germany but
had no area responsibility in that country. They maintained
and operated the advance supply points from which the armies
drew their supplies. Behind them were the intermediate and
base sections, which controlled the depots and transportation
lines through France and Belgium to the United Kingdom.

By reason of the rapid advances immediately before the cessation
of hostilities in Europe, U.S. fighting forces had progressively
increased the distance between the fighting fronts and the
COMZ sources of reserve supplies. Tactical supply levels
were considerably lower than those doctrinally prescribed,
and Army transportation resources had to be used to a degree
far beyond that normally required. In spite of these conditions,
the overall supply picture was favorable, since Army objectives
were realized is good order and in good time. It was, perhaps,
even fortunate that reserve supplies were so far behind
the tactical units because the formal capitulation of the
German armed forces on 8 May 1945 so changed the character
and scope of basic supply requirements that much material
-- no longer needed -- had to be shipped rearward from forward
areas to COMZ storage and supply installations. Further,
on VE Day some U. S. forces were occupying territory from
which they had to withdraw in accordance with agreements
prescribing the geographical delimitations of each allied
nation's zone of occupation. (See Maps 1 and 2.) The presence
of large quantities of tactical reserves in these areas
would have imposed a heavier post-war task.

War Department supply policy for the immediate post-war
period assigned first priority to satisfying requirements
in the Pacific theater of operations until the final defeat
of Japan. Except for the supplies still required in the
inactive European theater -- e.g., clothing, medical, and
food items -- outstanding requisitions and shipment orders
were to be canceled. Revised requisitions, based on requirements
for occupation tasks, were to be submitted in their place.

In Germany, COMZ was responsible for providing administrative
support to U.S. forces, establishing required installations,
and determining the supplies and levels needed to support
the occupation forces. The first depots to be relocated
in Germany were issue depots established by the Advance
Section, Continental Advance Section -- the two advance
sections were liquidated in June and July -- Berlin District
(established in May), and Bremen Port Command (established
in June). Gradually, depots in southern Germany and Berlin
were converted to combination filler-issue depots, and the
depots in the Bremen enclave were converted to base depots.

[MAP 1]

[MAP
2]

Existing German installations were used to the maximum so
as to reduce the U.S. need for new construction. When required
and practical, new construction was accomplished through
the use of German labor and materials.

Before the dissolution of the combined command (i.e.., SHAEF)
on 14 July, General Eisenhower on 1 July redesignated ETOUSA,
the highest U.S. command in the theater, as the U.S. Forces,
European Theater (USFET) with a main headquarters in Frankfurt
and a rear echelon (Communications Zone) in Paris. By 11
July all U.S. forces in Germany were located is the areas
designated for U.S. military occupation. Two military districts
were established on 1 August as the major ground force commands
is German -- the Eastern Military District comprising Land
Bavaria, and Western Military District comprising Land Hessen,
the Bremen subdistrict, and those parts of Laender Baden
and Wuerttemberg not occupied by French forces. (See Map
3. )

After these organizational changes, the U.S. Army forces
had completed their transition to the status of occupation
troops.

On 1 August, USFET established the Theater Services Forces,
European Theater (TSFET) in Frankfurt in place of COMZ headquarters
in Paris. As the mayor logistic command, TSFET exercised
responsibility for all fixed installations in occupied Germany
and the liberated countries and commanded all service troops.

Established at Rheims, France, an 10 December 1945 and relocated
to Bad Nauheim, Germany, in early January 1946, the Continental
Base Section took over the functions of TSFET, which was
discontinued on 28 February 1946. The Continental Base Section
provided logistic support to U.S. occupation forces in Germany
and Austria, commanded the Bremen Port Command and the base
and filler depots in the theater, and discharged responsibility
for the bulk storage and distribution of all supplies. USFET
continued to prescribe theater supply and administrative
policies and retained certain logistic functions, such as
determining supply disposition actions.

The immediate U.S. post-war concern in Europe had been the
fulfillment of U.S. obligations under the terms of Allied
agreements, and the command,

[MAP 3]

organization, disposition, and support of U.S. forces in
their new role as occupants.

Considering, however, that the U.S. occupation would last
for at least five years and that the presence of large numbers
of unaccompanied U.S. personnel in the desolate and melancholy
atmosphere of a destroyed and defeated Germany would give
rise to the development of serious troop morale problems,
planners envisioned the establishment of military communities,
where in-theater military dependents would live and receive
support at a level equal to that provided at stateside Army
posts in 1937. Nearby station complement garrisons would
provide services; receive, store, and issue the supplies
required to sustain the military and dependent population;
perform all but major maintenance services; and operate
local medical and hospitalization facilities. Senior U.S.
command units would distribute supplies and materials to
the station complements responsible for the support of troops
and dependents within the specified communities, distribute
supplies directly to units and dependents unattached to
a recognized community, perform major maintenance services
for all occupation forces, and furnish fixed hospitalization
facilities to supplement those locally available.

These military garrisons developed into the post-oriented
structure, through which support was furnished to and through
the post organizations. The first U.S. military dependents
arrived in Europe on 29 April 1946; by 1 July their in-theater
strength totaled 7,500. This strength continued to increase
so that by 1 December 1952 -- the date on which USAREUR
implemented the area command concept -- dependents in Europe
totaled almost 70,000, some of whom were located in France
as a result of an earlier U.S. decision to reestablish a
French line of communications (LOC). (1)

2. Establishment of the Area Commands
Effective 1 December 1952, USAREUR changed the military
post structure to realize significant manpower, material,
and fund savings without, however, diminishing the quality
or efficiency of the support provided under the military
post concept. USAREUR consolidated the posts and subposts
into area commands, which assumed the missions and responsibilities
of the organizations they replaced. (See MAP 4.)

a. The Northern Area Command (NACOM). NACOM consisted
of the former Frankfurt and Wuerzburg Military Posts and
the Bamberg Subpost of the Nuernberg Military Post. NACOM
headquarters was located at Frankfurt. Its commander was
the commanding general of the former Frankfurt Military
Post.

b. The Southern Area Command (SACOM). Consisting
of the former Augsburg, Garmisch, Nuernberg (less Bamberg
Subpost), Munich, and Stuttgart Military Posts and the Karlsruhe
Subpost of the Heidelberg Military Post, the Southern Area
Command had its headquarters at Munich. The commander of
the former Munich Military Post was designated the SACOM
commander.

c. The Western Area Command (WACOM). The geographic
area of the former Rhine Military Post was designated as
the Western Area Command.

d. The Headquarters Area Command (HACOM). The area
comprising the former Heidelberg Military Post, less the
Karlsruhe Subpost, was designated as the Headquarters Area
Command.

e. Bremerhaven, Berlin, and Wiesbaden. The Bremerhaven
Port of Embarkation (BPOE) continued without change. The
former Berlin Military Post was redesignated the Berlin
Command. The Wiesbaden Military Post, which comprised an
area wherein were concentrated Air Force activities and
personnel, was reorganized along lines suggested by the
Twelfth Air Force, and in coordination with USAREUR's logistic
planners. (2)

3. Initial Responsibilities of Commanders
of Area Commands
In general, area commanders were to provide supplies and
services to units, agencies, and personnel stationed within
their geographic areas. Other responsibilities included
the provision and administrative correlation of certain
support services, such as, chaplain and radical activities;
the enforcement of rules of military conduct and discipline;
the control of military police activities and functions;
the maintenance

[MAP 4]

of general and internal security; the preparation and ,justification
of fund requirement estimates; and the performance of other
general functions and services. In addition to their general
courts-martial ,jurisdiction, area commanders assumed special
and summary courts-martial ,jurisdiction over certain Amy
personnel located within their respective areas of responsibility.
(3)

In 1953, the area commands were reorganized and their detachments
consolidated. Though area command missions changed slightly,
the area commanders retained their principal responsibilities.
(4)

4. The Southeastern Area Command (SEACOM)
Until 1953, two separate areas -- one at Garmisch, the other
at Berchtesgaden -- had been known collectively as the USAREUR
Recreation Area. In May of that year, the two areas were
redesignated as the Southeastern Area Command. By June 1954,
however, SEACOM had been discontinued, its responsibilities
and functions being transferred to the Southern Area Command.
The consolidation saved 16 officer and 104 enlisted spaces
and simplified area support operations. (5)

5. Elimination of NACOM Districts
On 1 December 1954, NACOM eliminated its two districts and
redesignated the Bamberg, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Giessen,
Hanau, Kassel, Schweinfurt, and Wuerzburg Detachments as
subareas. On the same date, CINCUSAFE assumed responsibility
for the administrative and logistic support of the Rhine-Main
and Wiesbaden Airbases, thereby relieving the NACOM commander
of these functions. The eight subareas were later incorporated
into three. This organization endured until 1958. (6)

6. WACOM Reorganization
Effective 1 January 1955, WACOM discontinued its Worms Subarea
and reorganized the remaining five subareas to provide services
in the sector for which the Worms Subarea had been responsible.
Except for the transfer of selected area support quartermaster
troop support missions to Seventh Army in 1957 and 1958,
this organizational arrangement endured until 1 April 1958.
(7)

7. General Staff with Troop Positions
Effective 1 April 1955, CINCUSAREUR authorized the three
area commanders to redesignate their G1, G2, G3, G4, and
Comptroller staff positions as "general staff with troops"
positions, thereby responding positively to area commanders'
requests made repeatedly since the implementation of the
area command concept. (8)

8. Consolidation of NACOM and HACOM
On 1 April 1958 NACOM's subareas were abolished, and HACOM
was incorporated under the "12-post" concept, the 12 posts
reporting directly to NACOM headquarters. The purpose of
the consolidation was to save personnel and eliminate one
headquarters. (9)

USAACOM Post Boundaries after consolidation of several NACOM posts in early 1964

9. Merger of SACOM and NACOM
To realize the economies directed by higher authorities and to reduce the number of Army headquarters in Europe, USAREUR proceeded to streamline the area command structure even further. As a first step USAREUR reduced the number of NACOM's posts from 12 to 7 in early 1964. Bamberg, Baumholder, Fulda, Karlsruhe, and Pirmasens Posts became subposts of Wuerzburg, Bad Kreuznach, Hanau, Heidelberg, and Kaiserslautern, respectively. Frankfurt and Giessen Posts remained unchanged. At about the same time, the number of SACOM's posts were reduced from five to four when Grafenwoehr Post was redesignated as the Seventh Army Training Center and placed under the Nuernberg Post for area support. The status of Augsburg, Munich, and Stuttgart remained unchanged. Associated with these actions was the designation of the Armed Forces Recreation Center in Bavaria -- formerly assigned to SACOM for area support -- as a USAREUR assigned activity directly responsible to USAREUR headquarters. Because of the Center's commandwide importance and its use by members of the three component services, this arrangement was preferred to placing it under either Munich Post or directly under a consolidated headquarters.

On 1 July 1964, CINCUSAREUR discontinued SACOM headquarters at Munich and NACOM headquarters at Frankfurt and concurrently established a consolidated area command -- the U.S. Army Area Support Command (USAACOM) -- with headquarters at Frankfurt as the single command responsible for furnishing area support to U.S. Army Forces in Germany, excluding Berlin and Bremerhaven. A related development was the consolidation of all military police units of the two area commands and their assignment to a single military police group subordinate to USAACOM headquarters. The area command consolidation realized manpower savings of 133 military spaces, the military police reorganization, 727. (10)

10. Redesignation of Posts
Effective 1 July 1965, USAREUR redesignated each post a district and named it for a political subdivision of the Federal Republic or a local geographic feature, as follows:

POST

DISTRICT

Augsburg

South
Bavaria

Bad
Kreuznach

Rhineland

Frankfurt

Taunus

Giessen

Hesse

Hanau

Vogelsberg

Heidelberg

North
Baden

Kaiserslautern

Palatinate

Nuernberg

North
Bavaria

Stuttgart

North
Wuerttemberg

Wuerzburg

Franconia

The Munich
Post, a part of the former SACOM headquarters' TDA, had been
discontinued along with SACOM headquarters. Area support in
the Munich area was assigned to the Munich Subpost, a subordinate
element of the USAACOM's South Bavaria District Headquarters
in Augsburg. At the same time USAREUR redesignated each subpost
a subdivision and named it for the principal city or Landkreis
(county) within its boundaries. (11)

11. The USACOMZEUR-USAACOM Merger
As a result of the relocation from France by 31 March 1967,
almost all stocks and logistic activities were concentrated
in Germany. It was therefore necessary to consolidate and streamline
USAREUR's logistic structure to achieve the most effective and
economical use of available resources. Studies analyzing the
area command missions, organizational structures, and technical
capabilities resulted in the conclusion that USACOMZEUR should
absorb USAACOM's functions. USACOMZEUR had been performing area
support missions in France and could absorb USAACOM's responsibilities
-- even during the immediate post-FRELOC transition period --
without disrupting its other logistic operations. Despite the
loss of the LOC through France, USACOMZEUR's area support missions
had not changed significantly. USACOMZEUR was still providing
through its NATO/SHAPE Support Group -- area support to international
headquarters in the BENELUX area, as well as to its personnel
in the United Kingdom.

The merger of the two commands at USACOMZEUR headquarters, Worms,
Germany, an 1 July 1967 brought about a series of internal organizational
and staffing modifications, which included establishing the
position of the Deputy Commander for Area Support and converting
the heads of general staff divisions to deputy chiefs of staff.
The Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics was assigned responsibility
for the installation-and-service-type functions formerly administered
by two separate divisions. Completed by 30 September, the merger
resulted in the saving of 728 personnel spaces --225 military,
99 U.S. civilian, and 404 local national (LN). The merged headquarters
had, at the time of the merger, a personnel ceiling authorization
of 854 spaces.

Earlier in the year, in May 1967, the U.S. Army Engineer Command,
Europe (Provisional), had assumed the repairs and utilities
(R&U) technical supervision mission formerly assigned to USAACOM.
Effective 1 July 1967, the U.S. Army Traffic Management Agency,
Central Europe (USATMACE) consolidated the traffic management
and movements control activities. (12) 12. Project CORD
Even before the completion of the USACOMZEUR-USAACOM merger,
logistic planners had turned their attention to reorganizing
and streamlining the 10 support districts. This effort -- later
designated Project CORD (COMZ Organizational Realignment of
Districts) -- called for a 2-phase program. The first-phase
objective, attained on 1 December 1967, was to establish a standardized
district organization. (See Chart 1.) The second-phase objective
was the consolidation of the 10 remaining

[GRAPHIC 1]

districts into 5, their boundaries to coincide with those of
the Federal Republic's Laender (states).

These changes were necessary because the former USAACOM district
organizations had no semblance of uniformity and did not reflect
current support responsibilities, facility and manpower needs,
or the number of personnel supported. District boundaries, which
had been established under conditions that no longer obtained,
had to be realigned to provide area support to U.S. forces in
the Germany of the late 1960's.

Planners had explored the possibility of creating depot complexes,
such as those that had functioned successfully in France. Under
that concept, the complex commander was responsible not only
for the depots and maintenance facilities but also the support
of members of the forces present in his area. The merger of
the Hessen District (an area support organization) and the U.S.
Army Giessen Depot (a storage and maintenance installation)
in December 1967 was an experimental application of the depot
complex concept in Germany. However, conditions in Germany were
not the same as those in France, where almost all Army personnel
were assigned to USACOMZEUR. In Germany, most troops were assigned
to USAREUR and Seventh Army, so that the complex concept could
not be applied without modification.

The consolidation of the districts -- redesignated Support Districts
(SUPDISTs), the former subdistricts being redesignated Support
Activities (SUPACTs) -- became effective 1 July 1968. SUPDIST
Hessen, with headquarters at Frankfurt, included the former
districts of Giessen, Taunus, and Vogelsberg. SUPDIST Baden-Wuerttemberg,
with headquarters at Stuttgart, incorporated the former North
Baden and North Wuerttemberg Districts. SUPDIST Rhineland-Pfalz,
with headquarters at Kaiserslautern, combined the former Rhineland
and Palatinate Districts. SUPDIST Nord Bayern, with headquarters
at Nuernberg, incorporated the former Franconia and North Bavaria
Districts. SUPDIST Sued Bayern, with headquarters at Augsburg,
remained unchanged. (See MAP 5.)

[MAP 5]

The new organization authorized a total of 33 subdivision (i.e.,
SUPACT) headquarters, as opposed to only 27 before Project CORD.
(See TABLE 1.) The increase was explained by the need to establish
SUPACT headquarters at sites where former district headquarters
had been eliminated and to improve the support of dispersed
U.S. personnel in the larger SUPDIST. The implementation of
Project CORD saved 333 manpower spaces. The new support strengths
at each district were as follows: (13)

OFF

WO

EM

DAC

LN

LS

TOTALS

407

7

1,007

330

12,274

69

14,094

Rheinland Pfalz

94

1

248

54

2,606

--

3,003

Hessen

92

2

229

84

2,557

62

3,026

Nord Bayern

71

1

172

54

2,218

--

2,516

Sued Bayern

58

1

106

48

2,079

--

2,292

Baden Wuerttemberg

92

2

252

90

2,814

7

3,257

13.
Establishment of SUPDIST Bremerhaven
In addition to its principal mission, the U.S. Army Transportation
Terminal Command, Europe, with headquarters at Bremerhaven,
furnished area support and services to U.S. personnel in northern
Germany, an area outside the designated geographic limits of
USTASCOMEUR's (14) northernmost SUPDIST (Hessen). This arrangement
endured to early 1969, when, as a result of several studies
on reorganizing port operations in Europe, USTASCOMEUR began
to streamline its operations in the Bremerhaven area. For this
purpose it separated the port and support functions through
the simultaneous establishment on 1 October 1969 of the U.S.
Army Transportation Terminal Group (Provisional) -- which replaced
the former U.S. Army Transportation Terminal Command, Europe
-- and the U.S. Forces Support District, Bremerhaven (Provisional).
The Group was assigned to USATRANSCOMEUR, a USTASCOMEUR functional
command; the SUPDIST to USTASCOMEUR headquarters. (15) (See
MAP 6.)

[TABLE 1]

[MAP 6]

Effective 30 June 1971, USTASCOMEUR redesignated the SUPDIST,
Bremerhaven, as the U.S. Forces Support District, Norddeutschland,
thereby bringing its official designation in line with the practice,
established in July 1968, of assigning German, rather than English,
area classifications. (16)

14. Area Support in 1970
USTASCOMEUR's six SUPDISTs and 33 SUPACTs continued to provide
supply and service support to approximately 350,000 U.S. military
and civilian personnel, including dependents. Area support facilities
included 41,394 family housing units -- one-third of the Army's
worldwide assets -- and 3,428 bachelor officer's quarters (BOQ)
units; 68 commissary sales outlets; 88 open messes; 66 troop
messes; 88 service clubs; 9 stock record accounts; 10 laundry
and drycleaning plants; 39 clothing sales stores; 77 motor pools;
9 audio-visual centers; 34 finance offices; 223 crafts shops;
63 maintenance shops; 105 dependent schools; 108 libraries;
125 gymnasiums, and 149 chapels. Support of dependent schools
included the operation and maintenance of 623 school buses.
(17)

Came across the Area Command web page this evening. I served with the 547th Ord Co of the Area Command. I have been searching for the unit I served in from 1964-66.

About 1990 I had the occasion to travel to Rothwesten Kaserne (Kassel area), Hesse. The unit and in fact the entire US presence there had been vacated and the post given back to the German Army.

I suspected that the 547th had been inactivated. Was wondering what happened to some of the unit's baubles. Specifically, there was an Ordnance Bomb with the flame attached adjacent to the shop facility. The bomb was quite large, 3 to 4 feet in diameter. At the time of my posting, the Unit had been in Rothwesten for a year or so. Prior to that the Company was in La Rochelle, France.

Our mission was to support three transportation companies hauling goods from Bremerhaven (the US port) to the American sector in Germany. It was arduous work as the transport companies were using tactical vehicles for 4 to 500 mile trips. Later on – I believe sometime in 1965 - the transports were given “over the road” civilian trucks.

When posted, the Company was under Com Z command. This shift was credited to our Commander, a Capt/Major Stevens (I can't recall his first name). At that time Area Command was located in Munich with logistics from Giessen. The 547th then took the additional responsibility for maintenance of all Rothwesten units (a Bn of ASA and one battery of HAWK missiles). Hence the shift to Area Command.

That is all the information I can recall at this time. You must also understand that the information here is heresay, as memory tends to fade with time. Any additional info you can provide would be most appreciated. Specifically, it is my understanding that the Unit had been in ETO since WWII and that it has several battle streamers.

COMMAND NEWSPAPERS

NOTE:I plan to post extracts from the command, unit and community newspapers sometime in the near future - if I see that there is any interest.
Click on thumbnail of newspaper to read the front page.

The Chronicle - Some of the issues published while in Germany

May 5, 1967

US Army Area Command

IG Farben Building, initial headquarters for US Army Area Command, 1964 (Charles Merk)

Commanding Generals, U.S. Army Area Command

1964 - 1967 (list is complete) (1)

Col Louis Gershenow (July 1964 – July 1964) (2)

Maj Gen Tom R. Stoughton (July 1964 – June 1967) (3)

(1) List was created based on information collecting during research in the STARS & STRIPES archives. If anyone has corrections or additional details, I would like to hear from them.(2) Col Gershenow was the last commander of NACom. He assumed interim command of the newly established US Army Area Command on 1 July 1964.(3) MG Stoughton was the first and only commanding general of US Army Area Command. USAACom was inactivated on June 30, 1967 and its mission taken over by the US Army Communications Zone, Europe in Worms.

1964

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, June 26, 1964)

On July 1, 1964 US Army Area Command (USAACom) will formally be activated at Frankfurt to replace Northern Area Command (NACom) and Southern Area Command (SACom). The new consolidated support and service command will be headquartered at the IG Farben Building and assume responsibility for the missions, areas and functions of these two organizations. First CO of the new command will be Col Louis Gershenow (current CO of NACom).

The boundaries of the current NACom and SACom posts remain unchanged except for Nuernberg Post which will now include Bamberg Sub-Post. SACom HQ will become Munich Post on July 1.

USAACom will be organized into 11 post areas. These posts and their commanders are:

Post

Commanding Officer

Augsburg

Col John W. Finn

Bad Kreuznach

Col John N. Schoming

Frankfurt

Col John J. Moore

Giessen

Lt Col Victor K. Harwood (acting CO)

Hanau

Lt Col Rocco F. Meconi

Heidelberg

Col James T. L. Schwenk

Kaiserslautern

Col Francis Daugherty

Munich

Col Guy O. DeYoung, Jr.

Nuernberg

Col S. A. Armogida

Stuttgart

Col George P. Nichols

Wuerzburg

Col George B. Jordan

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, June 27, 1966)

Aviation Section, USAACom

The Aviation Section of US Army Area Command was formed in August 1964.

The Section uses a hangar on the German air base at Neubiberg (south of McGraw Kaserne) as its home base.

(Source: STATION LIST, June 1966)

DISTRCT

STATION

HHC, Area Command

McGraw Kaserne, Munich

Franconia

Leighton Barracks, Wuerzburg

Hesse

Pendleton Barracks, Giessen

North Baden

Hammonds Barracks, Seckenheim

North Wuerttemberg

Robinson Barracks, Stuttgart

Palatinate

Panzer Kaserne, Kaierslautern

Rhineland

Bad Kreuznach

South Bavaria

Reese Barracks, Augsburg

Taunus

3804 Kaserne, Frankfurt

Vogelsberg

Pioneer Kaserne, Hanau

(Source: Email from Larry R Ward, Det 1, SSU, Frankfurt)

I served in Det 1 of the USA Signal Service Unit, IG Farben Bldg,
Frankfurt, APO 09757 from July 1963/Dec 1965.
I was wondering if that unit is still active and working? We were part of
the Northern Area Command at the time, and had several detachments in
various cities in West Germany.

We were "part of" the Northern Area Command (NACOM),
and ran a large communications center in the IG FARBEN
bldg. in Frankfurt, and our barracks were in a small
Kaserne a short distance away. The Det #1 housed a
comm. center section, radio operations sections, and
both included their own maintenance sections if I
remember correctly. There was also a telephone repair
and installation section. There were several
Detachments to the group (five, six or seven ?). I
remember Frankfurt, Munich, Nuremburg, Stuttgart,
Kaiserslautern. There were possibly others, but I do
not recall them.

I was a Crypto operator, so my work
place was highly classified as was the type of work I
did.

I do seem to recall that the Unit's Commander's rank
was Brigader General/Bird Colonel?? It has been so
long ago, I cannot remember a lot of details. I have
had not contact with any of the men I served with
since my discharge.

I found your email on an US Army Europe web page that
listed some Signal Corp outfits that were in service
in Europe; They listed a US Army Strategic
Communications Command (USASCC) as
USASCC-Eur SSU as working out of the IG Farben bldg.
in Frankfurt, possibly as part of a Command and
Control Battation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONWebmaster Notes: I found mention of several Signal Service Units, all reporting to HQ USA Area Command, in the USAREUR STATION LIST for Sept 1965:

Who can shed some light on the organization and mission of these signal units?

Northern
Area Command

The Northern Area Command was established in Frankfurt, Germany, on December 1, 1952, pursuant to General Order 27, USAREUR, October 27, 1952. It replaced the Frankfurt Military Post. Its jurisdiction initially included the districts of Frankfurt and Würzburg.

On March 1, 1959, it gained from the discontinued Western Area Command the districts of Baumholder, Bad Kreuznach, Pirmasens, Worms, Mainz, Kaiserslautern, and Koblenz.

The Northern Area Command was discontinued on July 1, 1964, in accordance with General Order 192, USAREUR, May 14, 1964, with functions transferred to the U.S. Army Area Command.

A wire diagram of the Northern Area Command as of June 1954 (Webmaster's collection)

The 314th Army Band - appropriately attired in colorful costumes - participates in a
German Faschings
parade in Frankfurt (Webmaster's collection)

Commanding Generals, Northern Area Command

1952 - 1964 (list is still incomplete) (1)

Brig Gen Basil H. Perry (December 1952 – June 1953) (2)

Col Albert C. Morgan (June 1953 – September 1953)

Maj Gen Thomas W. Herren (September 1953 – November 1954)

Maj Gen Richard W. Stephens (November 1954 – June 1956)

Maj Gen Rinaldo Van Brunt (June 1956 – July 1957)

Maj Gen Paul D. Adams (July 1957 – July 1958) (3)

?

Maj Gen Ralph R. Mace (?– ?)

Brig Gen Irvin L. Allen (? 1961 – ?)

Col Charles R. Meyer (? – July 1962)

Col Louis Gershenow (August 1962 – June 1964) (4)

(1) List was created based on information collecting during research in the STARS & STRIPES archives. If anyone has corrections or additional details, I would like to hear from them.(2) BG Perry was the commanding general of the Frankfurt Post and assumed command of the Northern Area Command when it was established in December 1952.(3) MG Adams assumed command of US Army Forces in the Middle East during the Lebanon Crisis of 1958 where he directed U.S. Army and Marine forces in the landings in Lebanon. (4) Col Gershenow was the last commander of NACom. He assumed command of the newly established US Army Area Command on 1 July 1964.

1956

MG Rinaldo Van Brunt, CG NACom, 1956-1957

1957

MG Paul D. Adams, CG NACom, 1957-1958

1963

(Source: STARS
& STRIPES, 30 Nov 1963)

NACom to Celebrate
11th Anniversary
By RALPH BENNINGTON
Staff Writer

FRANKFURT (S&S) - The Northern Area Comd (NACom) celebrates its 11th
anniversary Sunday at headquarters here and throughout the 12 posts
and 12 subposts that fall under the largest Army area command in Europe.

While Frankfurt has been a major Army center since the end of World
War II and known as everything from the Frankfurt Compound to Frankfurt
Military Post, the NACom designation did not come into being until
Dec. 1, 1952.

Encompassing more than 36,000 miles of territory extending from the
Luxembourg and France borders to the East Zone of Germany in the northeast
and above Kassel in the north, NACom provides garrison-type, logistical
and administrative support to an American military community of more
than a quarter of a million.

NACom
Telephone Directory

NACom
supplies support for such major units as USAREUR Hq, V
Corps, 7th Army Support Comd and three divisions -- the
3rd Inf, 3rd Armd and 8th Inf. It also acts as landlord
and corner grocer, city administrator and recreation supervisor
for the complete community of servicemen, wives, children
and civilians.

Along this line there are 82 chapels, 51 service clubs,
71 libraries, 74 theaters, 69 bowling lanes, 70 gymnasiums
and 602 other sports facilities. In addition there are
72 education centers for the American community plus 45
elementary and high schools with an enrollment of 33,000.

There are 72 housing areas and 100,000 troop barracks
spaces to maintain plus providing utilities for more than
200 separate installations.

I was stationed with the 74th from Sept.1, 1959 til April 2, 1962. After Postal School I was sent to Fort Dix, NJ for 3 weeks OJT with the 22nd Base Post Office. Then was sent to Germany on the USNS Upshur and came home on the USNS Rose.

The 74th had One Postal Officer and 16 enlisted men of which 3 men were stationed at Zweibruecken and operated APO 872. We also had 2 one-man units. Unit 1 was in the basement of one of the buildings in the dependent housing area just down from the PX and Unit 2 was in Muenchweiler at the 225th Station Hospital.
I was assigned to Unit 1 from Oct 1959 thru March 1962. I also worked Unit 2 a few times.

The 74th Army Postal Unit was responsible for providing mail service to the Army Units in and around Pirmasens also to the dependents. We received our mail from APO 227 in Kaiserslautern which acted as our Base Post Office until the Berlin Crisis and then the 22nd Base Post Office was set up in Kaiserslautern and we got our mail from them.

I do know that the 22nd was in Manila in the Philippines during WWII and that the 74th & 70th Postal Units were in that area. Best I that I can remember, the 70th Army Postal Unit operated APO 227. I know the Company Commander of the 22nd Base Post Office when it was in Manila, and some of the men that were in the 22nd.

I would like to know more history on the 74th Army Postal Unit and if it is still active.

POST ENGINEERS

Local nationals assigned to Post Engineers in Frankfurt, early 1950s (Benno Knorr)

Post EngineersFrankfurt

1. Maintenance van

2. Maintenance van

If you have information on the organization or operations of Post Engineers in USAREUR, in general, or in Frankfurt, in particular, please contact the webmaster (see email link at top of page.)

ORDNANCE FIELD MAINTENANCE (NACOM)

Location of NACOM Ordnance Field Maintenance Shop, Heddernheim (1954)

(Source: NACOM SOP 750-2, 11 July 1955)

The Northern Area Command Ordnance Section operated three field maintenance shops within its area of responsibility: Heddernheim (Frankfurt) Würzburg Giessen

The main shop was in Heddernheim and serviced the Frankfurt, Darmstadt and Hanau sub-areas.

The Würburg Sub-shop was located within Leighton Barracks and serviced the Würzburg, Bamberg and Schweinfurt sub-areas.

The Giessen Sub-shop was located at 143 Marburger Strasse in Giessen and serviced the Giessen and Kassel sub-areas.

These shops provided field maintenance repairs for Ordnance vehicles and small arms. German commercial type vehicles (Ford and Opel sedans, cargo and pick-up trucks, buses) used by the US Army were repaired at German commercial facilities in Cologne (Ford Werke A.G.) and Rüsselsheim (Adam Opel A.G.).

The maintenance shops were composed of the following sections: Production and Control Office Inspection Section Chassis Repair Section Body Repair Section Paint Preparation and Paint Section Lubrication Section Service Section Small Arms Repair Section

Research Request

1. Aerial & ground photos of the NACOM Field Maintenance Shops
Requester: WebmasterSubject: Looking for period photos of the Ordnance field maintenance shops in Heddernheim, Giessen and Würzburg during the 1940s-1960s. Contact:webmaster2. Operations of field maintenance shops
Requester: WebmasterSubject: Interested in hearing from anyone (German or American) who worked at one of the field maintenance shops in the Northern Area Command (or in the respective earlier Military Posts). Contact:webmaster
3. Location information for the Giessen Field Maintenance Sub-ShopRequester: WebmasterSubject: Looking for the name of the former German industrial plant at 143 Marburger Strasse that was requisitioned by the US Army after WWII and then served as the Giessen site for the field maintenance sub-shop.Contact:webmaster

Functional Statements, Signal Section, March 1954 (Click on image to see all three pages)

1955

(Source: Email from Bob Mathewes, 7772 AU, 1955-56)

The 7772 AU was the Northern Area Command Signal Service Company. Technically our CO was the NACOM Signal Officer. That was a “Bird” Colonel”. We seldom saw him. An Adjutant who was a Lieutenant ran the company.

I got there in early 1955. I was fresh out of the Southeastern Signal School at Camp Gordon in Augusta, GA. My MOS was Teletype Repair (I think the number was 2615).

We shipped over on the USNS General W. G. Haan. On 1 March we stopped in Southampton to disembark some personnel. (I still have the ship newsletter from that day.) From there, it was on to Bremerhaven. I was really glad to get my feet on dry land. I was sea sick most of the way. I remember seeing ice in the harbor and thinking that this was not something a South Carolina boy was accustomed to.

We loaded on a train and rode all night to the replacement center in Zweibrücken. My fondest recollection of that stop was the wonderful breakfast. It was the first meal and almost two weeks that I really enjoyed.

From Zweibrücken we went all over Europe. I traveled by train to Frankfurt am Main, arriving at the Hauptbahnhof about dark. I heard someone shouting, “Who’s for the Deuce”. I didn’t know what the hell the “Deuce” was so I didn’t respond. It wasn’t until he said , “the 7772" that I knew he was looking for us (I think there were three of us). We loaded into a ¾-ton truck for the ride out. The men we were replacing hadn’t rotated yet so they bunked us in the supply room in the basement.

Our barracks were near those of the 97th General Hospital although they were not behind the wire with the 97th. We were actually in the Atterbury Housing area. We shared the building with the 7770 Quartermaster SV Det. I have no memory of that other than the sign in one of the attached photos. I do remember there was another outfit in the far end of the building.

Although our HQ was in Frankfurt, we had detachments in other places but I don’t remember where. In Frankfurt, our people worked in the Communications Center in the Headquarters building downtown. That was the old I.G. Farben Building. We had a small Signal Corps warehouse and maintenance facility within a short walk of our barracks. That was where I worked. We repaired radios and teletype equipment. Our main maintenance people were about equally divided between GIs & German civilians. The NCOIC for the maintenance side was SFC Maxwell and the NCOIC in the warehouse was Staff Sgt. Robert Johnson. Our AOR ran from Darmstadt in the south to Kassel in the north. I remember we also had a photo lab but I was never there.

Later on, they moved us behind the wire with the 97th General Hosp. people. We had service calls at all hours and now we had to account for our late night comings and goings to a sentry at the gate. We didn’t have that problem in the old barracks and none of us like it.

Shortly after my arrival we swapped our American made ¾-ton trucks for German built Ford Taunus vans. I remember we had to put sandbags over the rear wheels in the winter to keep the rear end from sliding. On cold nights, someone was detailed to start them all every hour.

We ate our meals at a consolidated mess at Gibbs Barracks. There was a theater, EM Club and snack bar within rock throwing distance of our barracks. A block or so away was Herbie’s Gasthaus. You could still see along the side of Herbie’s building where it had been stitched by a machine gun.

I was there until May or June of 1956 when I rotated back. Every man in the outfit who came back to the ZI while I was there came by air. When it came my turn they sent me by sea.

I don’t have anything in the way of a roster I can give you some names and hometowns from notes on my pictures. My closest friends were Kenneth L. Davis of Hays City, Kansas; Jim Kerns of Storm Lake, Iowa and Bob Greenawalt of PA.

The aerial above shows the Betts Housing area (1970s) - this is where the 7772 AU was billeted in the 1950s. Several of Bob's photos presented below show scenes from the area in the mid-1950s .

NACom Sig Sv CoFrankfurt

1. Reed & Mathewes next to Ford Taunus sedan (KB)

2. 7772 AU and 7770 QM Sv Co signs (KB)

3. Ford Taunus vans (KB)

4. IG Farben Building, 1955 (KB)

5. Looking towards the Snack Bar (KB)

6. EM Club (KB)

7. Theater No. 3 (KB)

8. EM Club, Gibbs Bks (KB)

9. "New" barracks (KB)

10. Ready for inspection (KB)

11. Harry Butler (left) (KB)

12. Sparky (KB) - Sparky was the company mascot. He was terribly afraid of rifle fire. He would go to the range with us and disappear at the first shot. We would find him at the barracks when we got back. He was a real ham. He would assume this pose any time a camera was pointed at him and hold it until the shutter clicked.

1956

(Source: Email from Robert (Scott) Alexander)

I was stationed in Frankfurt from 1956-1957 in the IG Hochhaus. I was part of the Northern Area Command and we operated a telephone system that connected military bases in the Northern Area Command. If you have any information about my group I would appreciate it. Just wanted to say thanks for all you have done with your website, it truly is a wonderful to see all of areas again.

I have your email and I will attempt to answer your questions as best my 73 year old memory can do.

To the best of my knowledge, the Northern Area Command was an organization set up to do house keeping duties for units of the Seventh Army and in the Northern Area of V Corps of the 7th Army.

Hitler had barracks in many small towns in Germany which were called Kasernes. Our troops occupied many of these barracks in anticipation that the “balloon would go up” (the Russians would attack West Germany}. This was in 1956 and 1957.

Ike had left the I.G. Hochhaus and was then President of the USA. The Hochhaus was then V Corps headquarters of the 7th Army. Their headquarters troops were billeted in a barracks in Frankfurt, the name of which I have forgotten, not too far from the Hochhaus where our company of troops was also billeted.

Our office was on the first floor of the Hochhaus. I had a large manual switchboard on the 7th floor, or attic, of the Hochhaus. The operators were all German nationals employed by the Army although I had a Master Sgt. in charge. I reported to Captain Ishmael Benton who reported to a Major who reported to a Lt. Colonel. Our secretary was a very nice German lady.

We provided fixed plant communications for V Corps fighting units. We had dial exchanges in the barracks that Hitler’s troops had occupied, and they were connected by a dial network which was good for it’s time. All circuits were leased from the Deutsche Bundespost, which is the German post office, that operates the German telephone system. Many of our workers were German nationals supervised by military personnel.

The equipment we used was all German, usually manufactured by Siemens und Halske, now known as Siemens. We also had some equipment from a firm by the name of Telefonbau und Normalzeit AG. I went to a school put on by this company for US troops, explaining how their switching equipment worked. T und N also manufactured vending machines.

We also operated some sort of a radio network which was for emergency use only. We tested it nightly. We also operated a Com Center which had full encryption capabilities. I do not remember who the traffic was for but I presume V Corps since it was across the street from their barracks. I was not involved in this operation and never did know much about it.

Most of the engineers for these activities, except the com center, were German nationals, some of whom had been in the German military. We also had U.S. civilians who had it so good that some of them were happy not to be on US soil.

Occasionally we had to stand duty officer for the Northern Area Command. The chief duty was to report the arrival, or not, of the supply convoy that returned nightly from Berlin to West Germany. Sometimes the Russians would stop it and we had to report it to someone.

If the balloon went up, our duty was to take military dependents and civilians out of the area to somewhere west in convoys. We were to keep our cars ½ full of gas at all times which we bought from the army at 17 cents per gallon. They wanted us to use a lot because all of the military vehicles ran on gas at that time and the gas only kept for so long. My weapon was a US carbine, caliber 30, M1.

As a matter of interest, floors 3 or 4 though 6 of the Hochhaus were full of “spooks.” No one knew who they worked for or what they did. They all wore civilian clothes and dressed like Germans. If a telephone was needed we had to deliver it to an entrance and their com people took it from there.

I hope this helps you in your quest for information. It has caused me to think of things not thought of for many years. It is nice to know someone might be interested.

1957

(Source: Email from Don Follett, 7772 Sig Svc Co, 1957-58)

I recently reviewed the photos and stories about the Northern Area Command. Great job.

I served in Frankfurt from Feb. 1957 to Oct. 1958. Along with Alexander I served with the 7772 Signal Svc Co and was the admin-budget officer with many other duties. We provided telephone, radio, and photo fixed installation support to many V Corp units. We maintained a large photo lab and signal maintenance shop.

Northern Area Command was commanded then by MG Paul D. Adams from mid-1957 to mid 1958, when he was dispatched to Beirut Lebanon, I believe to be in command of all land troops in that action. He took a few signal support people with him. LTG Farrell was the V Corps commander.

As always, the budget was a big concern each fiscal year; usually the original allocation at our level was reduced at mid-year. Ordinary quartermaster items and vehicle maintenance such as coal were big items.

Recreation: The area was a mecca for military sports with several former big league ball players; good football too. Frankfurt High School had competitive teams as well.

I remember big time entertainment came through the town: Johnny Ray, Harry James, Sarah Vaughn; Elvis Presley was assigned to Bad Nauheim, I believe.

Alexander was right about the com center in which there were multiple teletype transmitters, and we did some microwave work. A lot of administrative traffic, i.e. quartermaster and other tech service supplies. I remember those Taunus wire trucks. We repaired smaller radio equipment for V Corps. Again, mostly fixed installations, building and post phones and switchboards. Very little, if any, of the tactical units mobile communications. ie the 3d Armored Division had a signal battalion with repair capability. I know, as a junior officer I wound up signing the property book for some 45 telephone exchanges at the various posts and subposts. Without seeing them --- violating a rule I was taught at Officer basic training. We also operated the MARS facility for Frankfurt (kind of ham operator/station to US and home stations). I expect V Corps signal did the interface with 7th Army. About a year before I left, V Corps sent over an interim Signal Officer (from the IG Farben Bldg) to command the NACOM Signal Division.

As a journalism major in college, I was somewhat out of my element. Looking back, I was fortunate to have served with some outstanding signal field operations officers, many of whom who had served in WW II. There were many lieutentants, of course, who were learning along with me. My skills may have been with the photography end of things, but not necessarily the heavy work orders we processed for copy work, and portrait, IG and provost marshal photo support.

I went to Off basic at Fort Monmouth in a class of 27, including 25 engineering grads, mostly electrical engineers. After discharge, I went home to the States and to Indiana where I joined the Indiana Guard, 38th Inf Div. Later, I joined the Infantry Reserve component in Minnesota, retiring from the USAR some 30 years later. I wouldn't have predicted that when I was back in Frankfurt.

1958

(Source: Email from Gene Kitchens, 7772 Sig Svc Co, 1958-60)

Just found your web site. Enjoyed reading some of the info on Gibbs Barracks and the units assigned there. I was assigned to the 7772 Signal Service Company from April 1958 to April 1960 at Gibbs Barracks. I worked at the transmitter site (NACOM Radio Station).

I have been trying to remember the street names on how we got to the NACOM Radio Station site for decades, but I just cannot remember. It's funny how you can drive somewhere at least 4 times a day and not remember the names of the streets. I know we usually left Gibbs out the back gate through the Gibbs Housing Area. After that we traveled on several different streets (I believe east) until we came to a farming area. It was really out in the boon-docks. There were no other military installations anywhere close by. Took about 30 minutes to get there from Gibbs (much longer if it was snowing or foggy).

We referred to the NACOM Radio Station as the transmitter site, but it was also a receiver station. It was just the way we referred to the site. We thought of a radio station as something you listen to while in your car. The Army called it a radio station, we called it the transmitter site. Sort of like the official name was Gibbs Barracks, but I never heard anyone call it anything other than Gibbs Kaserne. NACOM radio station was a complete radio station. It was voice and morse code. Mostly morse code.

The first week of April 1960, as I was getting ready to leave Frankfurt, the NACOM radio station was being moved to the top floor of the Farben building. The old site was apparently abandoned, or given back to the farmers. I never worked in the Farben building. They were just bringing the equipment over and installing everything when I left.

I believe the radio station was just a backup site in case something
happened to the Farben building. Since I was not an operator, don't
hold me to this, but I seem to remember sometimes the operators would
get a message via teletype to relay that message on to all of the other
stations on the net, but mostly the operators just seem to practice
their morse code and would send practice messages back and forth to
each other.

Many posts in NACOM were on the radio net with our radio station. I'm
not sure how many, but I know at least five, probably more. Every hour
I remember the radio operators were required to call each station by
morse code and log their response as to signal strength and probably to
see if they were still awake. Our station was the HQ. Our call sign was
JW. The other stations had call signs of JW1, JW2, JW3, etc. It must
have been tough to stay awake especially on the midnight shift. It was
really lonely out there all by yourself. Only 1 radio operator worked
each shift.

Gibbs was used just for billeting, and of course we ate there also. The 7772nd Sig. Svc. Co. had no communication center of its own. Some members of the unit did work at a comm ctr. in the Farben building. That is where I believe the main teletype communications of NACOM was set up. The 7772nd was just as the name suggests, a service company. Members worked at many different locations around Frankfurt doing jobs such as Radio Repair, Radio Operator, Teletype Repair. Lineman, Antenna repairs and installation, etc. One person ran the MARS station in the Farben building.

During my 2 years at Gibbs, the members assigned to the radio station were mostly billeted at Gibbs. However for about 6 months we actually lived at the radio station and came into Gibbs for our meals. The cooks at Gibbs had box lunches left out at breakfast for those who could not return for lunch like the radio operators. Many times I would also pick up a box lunch so I didn't have to make the trip back. The radio station had a refrigerator and stove we could use. That was an experiment that I guess the powers to be had second thoughts about, so they had us move back to Gibbs. We loved it while it lasted however. We lived there about the same time that I was assigned along with 1 operator to man a 1 1/2 ton communications truck. This truck included communication equipment that one could only imagine having. We brought up the rear of a convoy that practiced occasionally to evacuate civilian personnel if needed. I guess the commies were acting up then.

7772 Sig Sv CoFrankfurt

Who can help identify where the transmitter site was located?

1. NACOM Radio Station (KB)

2. Operations Bldg (KB)

3. BC610 transmitters (KB)

4. 7772 Sig vans (KB)

5. Main gate (KB)

6. Barracks bldg on right (KB)

7. A wintery day (KB)

8. NCO and EM Clubs (KB)

1960

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, May 4, 1960)

Heidelberg Signal Branch, NACom

The Signal Br provides telephone, teletype, and pictorial services to the Heidelberg and Karlsruhe Posts. It also provides film equipment, and signal supply and maintenance support to the two military posts.

The organization is staffed with two officers and 45 enlisted men. It is located at Funari Barracks in Mannheim.

1961

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, May 16, 1961)

There are Northern Area Command major tape relay stations at Frankfurt, Kaiserslautern and Mannheim. They are all important links in STARCOM -- the strategic (global) Army communications network.

The teletype network operates under the supervision of the NACom Signal Division.

The Frankfurt tape relay station is located in the I.G. Farben Building and provides around-the-clock classified teletype facilities for the NACom Commander and the commanders of lodger units in Frankfurt. (Lodger ...

Station staff consists of one officer, one DAC, 35 enlisted men and nine local nationals. (DAC ... Department of the Army Civilian)

The average time for "originating traffic" is 19 minutes (from the time it is delivered to the communications center to the time it is actually punched out on the teletype for circuit transmission).

"Transmission time" is 2 minutes - the time it takes to relay a message station to station.

1962

NACom Signal Section key personnel, January 1962

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, February 20, 1962)

The NACom Signal Service Unit is responsible for providing fixed wire, radio, pictorial and (signal) maintenance support for Northern Area Command.

Its area of responsibility covers more than 22,500 square miles and includes 12 posts and 13 sub-posts. The unit provides support to headquarters NACom, NACom posts and sub-posts, as well as units assigned or attached to NACom and lodger units within the AOR. That support includes operating telephone exchanges, tape relay centers, photo laboratories, film libraries and maintenance and supply centers.

There are 37,484 telephones installed in NACom with 78 dial exchanges. One-third of the telephones is controlled from the IG Farben Building in Frankfurt with twenty-two exchanges coming from the central exchange on the seventh floor.

In the tape relay center located in the basement of the IG Farben Bldg close to 40,000 messages are handled each month. (The theater's largest tape relay center, at Pirmasens, is also located within the AOR of NACom. This center, however, comes under the direct control of STRATCOM. All messages coming into Europe go through this tape relay center first.

Air-ground communications at the 25 airfields in NACom is also a responibility of the SSU.

The film library at Heddernheim is one of the largest in the Army, with more than 4,000 films. (A projectionist school is run there also.)

The NACom film laboratory is also located at Heddernheim.

There are six signal detachments that fall under the SSU -- The largest detachment being the Frankfurt Signal Det.

Southern
Area Command

SACom Headquarters building, 1955 (Webmaster's collection)

A wire diagram of the Southern Area Command as of March 1955 (Webmaster's collection)

Commanding Generals, Southern Area Command

1952 - 1964 (list is still incomplete) (1)

Maj Gen Kenneth F. Cramer (December 1952 – February 1954) (2)

Col Harrison D. Helberg (acting) (February 1954 – April 1954)

Maj Gen John A. Dabney (April 1954 – June 1954) (3)

Col George O. Pearson(acting) (June 1954 – July 1954)

Maj Gen Numa A. Watson (July 1954 – September 1956)

Maj Gen Gordon B. Rogers (October 1956 – November 1957)

Maj Gen Lloyd R. Moses (November 1957 – March 1959)

Maj Gen Paul A. Gavan (March 1959 – May 1961)

Maj Gen John R. R. Seitz (? – April 1962)

Col Lee C. Miller (April 1962 – June 1964) (4)

(1) List was created based on information collecting during research in the STARS & STRIPES archives. If anyone has corrections or additional details, I would like to hear from them.(2) MG Cramer was the commanding general of the Munich Military Post and assumed command of the Southern Area Command when it was established in December 1952. The General died of a sudden heart attack while hunting near Hohenfels on February 20, 1954.(3) MG Dabney was reassigned in June 1954 to Trieste, Italy where he became the commanding general of the TRUST (Triest US Troops) command, after TRUST's commander, Maj Gen Bernice M. McFadyen became seriously ill earlier in the month. (4) Col Miller was the last commander of SACom.

1955

(Source: Welcome
Brochure, HQ SACom, 1955)

SACom
Welcome Brochure

SACom
Telephone Directory

HQ SACom
Strip Map, 1964

SACom
ROSTER OF KEY PERSONNEL (as of 6 July 1955)

Commander

Maj
Gen Numa A. Watson

Deputy
Comdr

Col
George O. Pearson

Chief
of Staff

Lt
Col Roy W. Marcy

AC
of S G1

Lt
Col James A. Scott

AC
of S G2

Lt
Col I. R. Lampman

AC
of S G3

Lt
Col Joseph Gorman

AC
of S G4

Col
George W. Hanley

Comptroller

Mr.
A Litwin (acting)

Civil
Affairs

Capt
James G. Franzen

Adj.
General

Lt
Col Wilfred Arnold Jr.

Provost
Marshal

Col
Homer Widmann

Special
Service

Maj
Albert A. Price

Chaplain

Col
Peter S. Rush

Hq
Commandant

Capt
Alexander Vorobyoff

Civilian
Personnel

Mr.
Robert G. Beers

Inspector
General

Lt
Col Herman R. Cowen

Judge
Advocate

Lt
Col Hesse M. Charlton Jr.

Public
Information

Capt
Howard H. Ossermann

Labor
Service

Lt
Col Nelson C. Wahlgreen

Engineer

Col
William H. McGreary

Quartermaster

Lt
Col James V. Loftus

Signal

Lt
Col Delos S. Calkins

Transportation

Lt
Col Clayton L. Mausert

Ordnance

Lt
Col Bernice F. Jones

Chemical

Capt
Wendell R. Chastain

Surgeon

Col
George Horsfall

Dental

Col
Martin F. Sullivan

Visitor's
Bureau

Capt
Henry L. Brooks

SACom SUB-AREA COMMANDERS (as of 6 July 1955)

Augsburg

Col
Sylvester T. Del Corso

Berchtesgaden

Lt
Col Thomas D. McPhail

Garmisch

Col
Noble J. Wiley Jr

Grafenwöhr

Col
Walter R. Nichlos

Hohenfels

Col
Ralph L. Webb

Munich

Lt
Col Harry N. Payne

Nürnberg

Col
Alexander G. Kirby

Schwäbisch
Hall

Col
Winthrop H. Rogers

Straubing

Lt
Col Andrew Blase

Stuttgart

Col
James Fish

1956

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Sept 28, 1956)

SACom to Reorganize 10 Subareas on Nov. 1

MUNICH, Sept 27 (Special) - The subareas of the Southern Area Comd will be reorganized on Nov. 1 as directed by SACom Hq.

The 10 subareas will be consolidated into four subareas covering the same geographical limits as before and still operating under SACom Hq.

Officials foresee only minor personnel changes, since the same amount of work in the way of logistical support of tactical units is still required of SACom.

Four New Areas
The four SACom subareas after Nov. 1 will be Stuttgart, Nurnberg, Munich and Garmisch. Former subarea headquarters will continue many of their logistical functionc as stations under the new subareas.

The new Stuttgart Subarea will incorporate the Schwaebisch Hall Subarea and five counties from the Augsburg Subarea -- Noerdlingen, Dillingen/Donau, Guenzburg, Neu ULM and Ulm. The new Nurnberg Subarea will include the former Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels subareas. The new Munich Subarea will incorporate Berchtesgaden, Straubing and the rest of Augsburg. Garmisch Subarea will remain the same for the present.

Recreational activities of the present Berchtesgaden Subarea will be under the direct operational control of SACom Hq, while logistical activities will be under the Munich Subarea.

One Command Change
Only one change in command is involved. Col Russell W. Schmelz, commanding officer of the Straubing Subarea, will replace Lt Col Harry N. Payne as commanding officer of the Munich Subarea. Payne is rotating to the US in a few months. Commanders of other subareas scheduled to be eliminated will remain as station commanders.

With the change, Watson said, most large tactical units will have to deal with only one subarea for logistical support. For instance, the entire 11th Abn Inf Div and the entire 6th Armd Cav Regt will be within the Munich Subarea. This will eliminate most of the cross-over support between sub-areas.

One and half years ago, the command started to replace the WWII-vintage trucks with new M-series trucks. A problem arose in the replacement program when it was determined that not all repair parts for the new trucks could be obtained through normal supply channels. SACom Ord Div decided to reclaim or rebuild the parts that could not be replaced.

Small reclamation sections were established at each of the three ord field maint shops. Soon these shops were returning to service major and minor vehicle assemblies and spare parts that normally would have been consigned to the scrap heap. Although the original critical situation has been eased, the reclamation shops continue their reclamation mission -- in the past year, for example, they reclaimed 614 vehicle engines at a net savings of over $616,000.

All three reclamation shops work on minor assemblies and spare parts. But under a recent policy change, only the Munich shop (located in Dachau) overhauls major assemblies. When the other two shops have a major assmbly to be reclaimed, they send it to the Munich shop.

SACom Ord Div has initiated two other projects in an effort to improve quality of sevice: the Lateral Supply Program and the Direct Exchange Program.

Lateral Supply Program -- whenever a requirement develops for a major item or assembly which one district does not have on hand, the other two districts are queried to determine if they have the required item. If so, the item is dispatched to the point it is needed. This saves time in the procurement of the item from depot stocks.

Direct Exchange Program -- this program eliminates paper work and cuts red tape in the exchange process of unserviceable repair parts for serviceable parts. Units used to have to make up one document in numerous copies to turn in the unserviceable part and then another document to draw the replacement part. Now the unit simply tags the unserviceable part, presents it to ordnance, and picks up a new or reconditioned item in exchange.

Research Request

1. Aerial & ground photos of the SACOM Field Maintenance Shops
Requester: WebmasterSubject: Looking for period photos of the Ordnance field maintenance shops in Munich, Stuttgart and Nürnberg during the 1940s-1960s. Contact:webmaster2. Operations of field maintenance shops
Requester: WebmasterSubject: Interested in hearing from anyone (German or American) who worked at one of the field maintenance shops in the Southern Area Command (or in the respective earlier Military Posts). Contact:webmaster

7777 SIGNAL SERVICE COMPANY

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, March 3, 1950)

The 7777th Signal Service Company was formed in Fuerth, Germany in February 1950.

30th ARMY BAND

(Source: Email from Philip Koslow, 30th Army Band, 1966-69)

I was stationed with the 30th Army Band in Munich from Dec. 1966 until May 1967. We were relocated to Kaiserslautern at that time (Webmaster note: the 30th was attached to the 32nd AADCOM at the time). I left in Jan 1969.

In searching the internet for info regarding McGraw Kaserne, I have been able to find quite a bit but found that my visual memory from my time stationed there does not align with the updated version of that part of Munich.

I arrived in Munich about a week prior to the 1966 Xmas holidays via railroad from Frankfurt. I was met at the Hauptbahnhof by the 1st sergeant from the 30th Army Band. The 30th provided services for the Southern Area Command for many years following occupation and also traveled extensevely throughout Europe entertaining the locals etc. We went to Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris and numerous small German towns in southern Germany. All of this was certainly better than being stationed in Southeast Asia in the mid-sixties.

We were housed and rehearsed on the 3rd floor of a building that I think was Bldg. A. MP's occupied the 2nd floor and cooks were on the 1st floor. We walked next door (or a few doors from there) for mess hall. I recall a snack bar aross an open area near the WAC barracks and remember the Univ. of Maryland extension within sight of our housing. We did a retreat ceremony once a week for the General who asked us to wear dress blues for each occasion. Needless to say, we failed miserably at inspection time as we were not that military in most ways.

Unfortunately, word came down that the Band was being relocated to Kaiserslautern in May of 1967. Talk about a depressed group of guys! All my memories of Munich have been recalled with great joy. The German people (wherever we performed) were friendly and gracious. It was a grand time to be 20 years old and exposed to a different culture. It impacted my life immeasureably. The food, music, people and friendly gals remain with me after many years. Additionally, the Army experience set me on a road to a rewarding musical career. I left K-Town in January 1969 to pursue college and ultimately returned to Vienna to complete my musical studies.

I am retired in Las Vegas now but often reminisce about Munich, the Kaserne and old comrades that made my stay in Germany so meaningful.

No photos of my stay there other than a posed image with my french horn.

Nürnberg
District

(Source: ARMY,
NAVY & AIR FORCE JOURNAL, 8 August 1953)

Nurnberg District,
Germany
By COL H.P. Hennessy
Atry, USA
Commanding

NURNBERG District is an important Area Command within the European
Theater and has within its limits major training facilities for all
arms, including facilities necessary to train complete divisions.

The name "District" is a comparatively new one, as during the period
1947-1952, the District was designated as a Military Post and only
recently became one of three divisions within the Southern Area Command
whose headquarters are in Munich, Bavaria. The Area Command of which
the Nurnberg District is a part, controls a large portion of Southern
Germany west of the Rhine and east of Austria and the Iron Curtain.
This area is commanded by Maj. Gen. Kenneth F. Cramer.

The Nurnberg District has its headquarters in the town of Nurnberg,
or, as English speaking people call it "Nuremberg," and the area
controlled therefrom extends some 200 miles along the Czechoslovakian
border and an additional 60 miles along the boundary of the Russian
occupied zone of Germany. It extends from Passau on the Danube, where
Germany meets Austria, nearly to Wurzburg.

Nurnberg is an ancient and important commercial city which for many
centuries has been the hub of important trade routes. Even today the
majority of the railroad lines which serve the city follow the great
trade routes of the days of the Renaissance and earlier periods. Prior
to World War II, it was famous for the medieval walls which enclose
the older portion of the city and for the many buildings dating back
as far as the 12th century which were to be found within these walls.
However, the city was severely bombed during the recent war and many
of the ancient buildings and landmarks were destroyed. It is now still
undergoing extensive rebuilding. It is noteworthy that in this work
of reconstruction the city authorities are trying, as far as possible,
to preserve the ancient aspect of the older portion of the town while,
at the same time, attempting to modernize the interior of the buildings
to bring them up to modern requirements for living.

Nurnberg has always been regarded as one the most famous cities in
this area and has served not only as the capital of the Holy Roman
Empire, but also become the headquarters of the Nazi party during
World War II. It was because of this circumstance that the ancient
part of the town received such heavy damage, since because of the
many tunnels which underlay that portion of the city, the the area
was the site of many of the activities of the Nazi Party. It was seized
by the XV Corps under General Haislip in April 1945 and has been a
major headquarters for the American Army since that time.

Within the District are stationed major Infantry elements and numerous
Corps and Artillery, technical and supply units. These troops live
in barracks or "Kasernes" in accordance with the practice in Europe,
in or near cities and towns. The families of the officers and enlisted
men are not quartered with the barracks area, but in the general vicinity.
Around Nurnberg there are several thousand dependents of military
personnel as well as United States civilians and their dependents.
Of this total, the majority live in houses requisitioned from German
owners.

The barracks areas are of limited extent. In most cases they are the
equivalent of from four to six city blocks and have restricted facilities
for training. There are within the Nurnberg District, however, two
great training areas. Grafenwohr and Hohenfels, which correct this
deficiency. These training areas serve United States units from all
of Germany and are not restricted to those stationed within the District.
They also serve, occasionally, German border police organizations
and the United States troop units from Austria.

The Grafenwohr training area is familiar to most officers of the combat
arms who have been an duty in Germany during the past seven years.
It was a Germany Army maneuver area at which many divisions were trained
prior to and during World War II. The earlier temporary wooden buildings
have been replaced during the past two years by simple concrete cantonments
and camp areas with concrete floors, kitchens and latrines. This training
area is rather large and is broken, varied and reasonably served by
roads adequate for training purposes. There are ranges on which can
be fired practically every type of Army weapon. To the best of my
knowledge, there is no comparable area in the United States for all-around
range and field training.

The Seventh Army Tank Training Center is located at Vilseck within
the Grafenwohr reservation and is a major facility available to the
Armored Forces within the European Command. It is equipped with every
range and training aid.

Hohenfels is nearly as large and complete as Grafenwohr. It is also
an old German Army training area. During the past year and a half,
it has been developed with concrete cantonment construction plus camp
areas similar to those at Grafenwohr. While not as large as Grafenwohr,
it, too, can accommodate a large number of thoops. There are many
ranges for all Army weapons, except the medium and heavy antiaircraft
artillery.

The two training areas, Grafenwohr and Hohenfels, provide the most
varied and extensive range facilities in Western Europe and their
maintenance and development is a major responsibility of the Nurnberg
District.

In the event of an emergency, the combat divisions and their supporting
tactical, technical and supply units would move immediately to prepare
for operations. By immediately I mean that their home areas must be
cleared in a matter of a few hours. It is the responsibility of the
District organization to so administer these areas that tactical troops
are free to move at once and at full strength.

There are many civilians for whom the District organization is responsible,
and by far the largest group is composed of the wives and children
of United States military personnel. The troops and this large group
of dependents must be supplied with many necessities and comforts
which are not the responsibility of the military establishments in
the United States. The troops In Germany are in a foreign land which
is laboring to recover from a devastating war. These troops and particularly
their families, are entitled to many services not available from the
local economy in order to reasonably approximate United States living
standards. All such matters are the responsibility of the District
to the end that the troops shall be free at all times for their tactical
mission. In addition to quarters for dependents which have already
been mentioned, commissaries, schools, medical facilities and services,
athletics and amusements, including American movies, are all provided.
The European Theater Special Activities Division, with headquarters
at Nurnberg, provides post exchange facilities throughout Europe and
the Near East.

The District employs many Germans in various capacities, but principally
as skilled or unskilled laborers and care takers. The administration
of these employees is important, and their employment is a great help
to the German economy.

In addition to the sizable sums which are sent home, approximately
fifteen million dollars in American money are converted annually within
the District into German marks and spent by United States military
personnel and their dependants for the hire of servants, in local
shops and in many other ways. This sizable expenditure is highly advantageous
to the German dollar account and is equivalent to the expenditure
of many tourists.

Relations with the German officials and people is a major District
responsibility. As Germany moves from the status of an occupied country
to membership to the European Defense Community, it is apparent that
understanding and cooperation between the American Armed Forces and
the German people must be established and fostered. Much has been
done. The German Youth Activities established by General Clay have
been an important step in the right direction. The German-American
Womens' Clubs, and similar social activities have helped. Understanding
between American Commanders and German officials has been established.
Athletic contests in which the Americans compete with the Germans
are of increasing significance. The Amerikahaus, fostered by the State
Department, provides a voluminous library for the German population,
as well as interesting entertainment events, and has been most instrumental
in imparting to the German Population the idea of the American way
of life.

In summation, it is believed that it may be said that the duties of
the Nurnberg District are many and complicated and the fulfillment
of these duties is an important factor to the assigned mission o!
the United States Army in Europe.

Headquarters
Area Command

Hammonds Barracks, Seckenheim, a few years after the inactivation of HACom Hqs

Commanding Officers, Headquarters Area Command

1952 - 1958 (list is still incomplete) (1)

Col John F. Cassidy (December 1952 – ?) (2)

Col James J. Pirtle (? – ?)

Col Ernest C. Norman (? – ?)

Col Charles F. McNair (? – ?)

Col Donald B. Harriott (? – ?)

Col Ralph W. Woods (? – November 1956) (3)

Col Nathaniel R. Hoskot (December? 1956 – March 1958) (4)

(1) List was created based on information collecting during research in the STARS & STRIPES archives. If anyone has corrections or additional details, I would like to hear from them.(2) Col Cassidy was the commanding officer of the Heidelberg Military Post and assumed command of the Headquarters Area Command when it was established in December 1952.(3) Col Woods became seriously ill and was evacuated by air to the US on December 19, 1956. He passed away the next day.
(4) Col Hoskot was the last commander of HACom. On 1 April 1958 HACom was merged with NACom under the "12-post" concept and became Heidelberg Post.

Headquarters Area Command insignia

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Dec 6 1952)

Heidelberg Military Post was redesignated as Headquarters Area Command effective December 1, 1952. This change, with others, occurred under the provisions of a USAREUR directive that reorganized the administrative structure of the military command in the US Zone of Occupation in Germany.

Col John F. Cassidy, formerly commanding officer of Heidelberg Military Post, assumed command of the newly formed HAC.

The boundaries of HAC are the same as those of the former military post with the exception of Karlsruhe Subpost which has been reassigned to the newly formed Southern Area Command.

(Source: List
of General Orders Naming Kasernes, USAREUR Military History web site)

Map
of Heidelberg Military Post, 1958

At
the time of the publication of the pamphlet: "History
of Kasernes, Heidelberg Post" (see cover on the
left), there were eleven kasernes located within the boundaries
of the military post.

Click on image to view the contents

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, March 30, 1958)

HACom Holds Last Review

Headquarters Area Command cased its colors in a formal deactivation ceremony held at Hammonds Barracks in Mannheim-Seckenheim on Saturday, March 29. Col Nathaniel R. Hoskot, HACom commanding officer, cased the colors at a regimental review, signifying the deactivation of the command and its incorporation into Northern Area Command (NACom), effective April 1.

HACom officials explained that the Mannheim-Heidelberg portion of former HACom becomes the Heidelberg Military Post, while HACom's Karlsruhe Subarea becomes the Karlsruhe Military Post. The two new posts bring the number of such organizations in NACom to 12.

In March 1949, the headquarters of the "original" Heidelberg Military Post (formed in March 1947 and redesignated as HACom in December 1952) was moved from downtown Heidelberg to Hammonds Barracks in Seckenheim.

(Source: Email from Martin Smith, 527th MP Co, 1953-1954)

527th Military Police Company (Prison Guard)

I did some research on my tour in 1953-54. I sailed from Brooklyn, NY to Europe in August 1953 on the USNS General Patch. We landed first in England (Dover) and then went to Bremerhaven where we disembarked and were sent by train to Zweibruecken in Southern Germany.

From there, I was assigned to the 527th MP Prison Guard Company at Taylor Barracks in Mannheim-Kafertal, Germany. I spent one year there.

I was "on the walls" of the Military Prison in Mannheim as a guard for three months and then was assigned to Sargeant Salas, in charge of training the company. I served as instructor and was also sent to school to be a public information specialist. I had also gotten trained as a projectionist while at Indiantown Gap, PA after basic training there in the Fall and Winter of 1952-53.

While awaiting assignment at the Gap, I served as a stockade prison guard, as well as various other assignments. I guess that's part of the reason I was sent to the 527th when I got to Germany.

While working for Sgt. Salas, I also wrote and edited articles for the Headquarters Command newspaper as I was involved with the company's softball and volleyball teams as their manager. I served in that company until Late August 1954 and then returned in order to go back to college in September 1954.

While stationed with the 527th, I was also the Assisitant Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 142, Kafertal, Germany. The kids were from families who were stationed there in the Army. They were from many states and we had great time with them that year. We started in about October 1953 with about 15 scouts and by the time I left, we had a troop of about 65 kids, an explorer piost with about 15 boys and were about to start a cub scout pack. My colleague, whose name was Norman Feder, was the Scoutmaster and I think he was from California. He had been there before me and was stationed across the street from our barracks with the MP Town Patrol Company at Funari Barracks. While there, he helped me get the three merit badges I needed for Eagle Scout. I was fortunate to get that while serving there in the Army. (I don't think many people in the military have had that experience). I received my Eagle Scout Badge at a big honors meeting. It was given by General Van Houton, in charge of the Headquarters Area Command at the time.

I remember that one of my Company officers was a Lt. Swad. My Captain was the head of our scout troop parents committee.

The Transportation Section, HQ HACom, is supported by personnel from the 7809th Station Complement Unit. Primary mission of the Trans Sec is to provide transportation support to HACom and all units, agencies, activities and personnel stationed in the HACom area. Transportation Officer of HACom is Lt Col W.D. Kelly.

SUBORDINATE ELEMENTS:Highway Branch - coordinates all highway movements within the command and allocates administrative vehicles to units within HACom. HACom administrative vehicles carried over 7 million passengers and drove approx. 6 million miles in 1953.

The highway section also trains German (those employed by US forces) and military drivers.

The highway branch operates the military bus station at the Heidelberg Shopping Center and the motor pools in Heidelberg, Mannheim and Karlsruhe.

Redeployment Branch - this section handles overseas movement of military and civilian personnel and their dependents.

The section also handles receipt and shipment of all household goods and baggage in and out of HACom (includes customs checks).
An average of 300 pieces of baggage passes through the branch's warehouse per day .

SPECIAL SERVICES SECTION, HACOM

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, June 1 1954)

The Headquarters Area Comd Special Services entertainment branch handles $30,000 to $38,000 worth of entertainment each month. Supervised by Capt Robert A. Domos, a veteran of 21 years in show business, HACom Special Services is charged with providing talent for 45 clubs in HACom, accommodating the performers, supervising non-professional entertainment, and scheduling movies.

Domos runs the Golden Rose Hotel in Heidelberg for entertainers and has arrangements with a Karlsruhe hotel for minimum rates. To make sure the performers get to their engagements, Domos
keeps two bus drivers to transport them. To make sure that audiences in the area like shows booked, Domos tests them on a typical audience of servicemen.

Assisting Domos is Fred Hofmann,
who serves as entertainment manager. Hoffman helps with scheduling auditions, booking acts, drawing up contracts, arranging for housing and transportation and acts as liaison between
entertainers and club managers.

Frank V. Romea supervises non-professional entertainment. He works through service clubs to find soldier entertainers. HACom soldiers give one or two formal productions each month.

Sgt Dick Kail handles professional benefit shows. He guided Eddie Fisher and Hazel Scott on their tours through HACom. HACom Special Services also helps better German-American relations
by putting on entertainment which Germans may attend.

Western Area Command area of responsibility, December 1952 (Walter Elkins)

The Western Area Command was established at Kaiserslautern, Germany, on December 1, 1952, pursuant to General Order 27, USAREUR, October 27, 1952. It replaced the Rhine Military Post. Its jurisdiction included the districts of Baumholder, Bad Kreuznach, Pirmasens, Worms, Mainz, Kaiserslautern, and Koblenz.

It was discontinued on March 1, 1959, with functions transferred to the Northern Area Command.

Commanding Officers, Western Area Command

1952 - 1959 (list is still incomplete) (1)

Brig Gen Oliver W. Hughes (December 1952 – September 1953)

Col Eugene B. Ely (acting) (September 1953 – November 1953)

Maj Gen Miles Reber (November 1953 – December 1955)

Maj Gen Elwyn D. Post (December 1955 – August 1956)

Col J. Paul Breden (August 1956 – July 1958)

Col Richard G. Stilwell (July 1958 – December 1958)

? (? – ?)

(1) List was created based on information collecting during research in the STARS & STRIPES archives. If anyone has corrections or additional details, I would like to hear from them.

Class II Installations (US Army) located in AOR of WACom, December 1952 (1)

INSTALLATION

LOCATION

DISTRICT

Rhine Ammunition Depot

Miesau

Kaiserslautern

Rhine Engineer Depot

Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern

Rhine Medical Depot

Einsiedlerhof

Kaiserslautern

Rhine Ordnance Depot

Vogelweh

Kaiserslautern

Seventh Army Chemical Depot

Kirchheimbolanden

Kaiserslautern

and "CBR" School

Landstuhl Army Medical Center

Landsthl

Kaiserslautern

US Army Hospital

Neubruecke/Birkenfeld

Baumholder

Nahbollenbach QM Depot

Nahbollenbach

Baumholder

US Army Hospital

Bad Kreuznach

Bad Kreuznach

US Army Hospital

Muenchweiler

Pirmasens

Pirmasens Ordnance Depot

Pirmasens

Pirmasens

Pirmasens Signal Depot

Pirmasens

Pirmasens

USAREUR Replacement Depot

Zweibruecken

Pirmasens

Germersheim Ordnance Vehicle Park

Germersheim

Worms

Class VI Depot

Pfeddersheim

Worms

Mainz Ordnance Depot

Mainz

Worms

Exempt Air Installations (USAF) located in AOR of WACom, December 1952 (1)

INSTALLATION

LOCATION

DISTRICT

Landstuhl Air Base

Landstuhl

Kaiserslautern

Sembach Air Base

Sembach

Kaiserslautern

Birkenfeld Air Installation

Birkenfeld

Baumholder

Pferdsfeld Air Base

Pferdsfeld

Bad Kreuznach

Zweibruecken Air Base (Canadian)

Zweibruecken

Pirmasens

Bitburg Air Base

Bitburg

Koblenz

Hahn Air Base

Hahn

Koblenz

Spangdahlem Air Base

Spangdahlem

Koblenz

(1) Source: Western Area Command historical report 1952

1956

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, March 21, 1956)

The Western Area Command (WACom) was established on March 20, 1951 as the Rhine Military Post. First CO of the command was COL Frederick M. Thompson. RMP was reorganized and redesignated as WACom in December 1952.

WACom covers 7,648 square miles. In the past five years the command has grown from a few scattered French kasernes into a giant depot complex that supports 7th Army and other US and NATO forces. Nearly 500 units are stationed within the AOR of WACom.

I was stationed at D'Isly Kaserne in Pirmasens, Germany, U.S. Army, 1957-1958, as an SP4, M.O.S. 701.1. The hill-top base had been a military post for many, many years, having subsequently been operated by not only the Americans, but at times by the French and the Germans as well. Am not sure the exact chain-of-command connection my company had with the Signal outfit, but I was assigned to the post Sub-Area Command Headquarters Company at the base.

While my primary function there was in S-3, 'Plans & Training', I also served as a field reporter for the WACom Courier and the STARS & STRIPES. I spent much of my tour in Germany on TDY, however, on various army rifle teams, on up to an including U.S. Army All-Europe squad. I can still remember those pockets of glare ice on the rifle ranges, the tears literally freezing on my face on our Western Area Command Baumholder range in mid-winter. In retrospect, I was probably one of the few G.I.s I know who's basic assigned weapon was a National Match-grade M-1 Garand. Tough way to get it, though. What kills me today is that I could have bought one then [since I was on the rifle team] from the Army for a mere $157.00. That would have been one of the better financial investments that I could have made in my life.

During my tour there President Eisenhower pulled a number of our troops
out of Germany [I think both Signal and Engineering out of Pirmasens]
to send down to Lebanon. At that time it looked like the Russians
were going to attempt a 'coup' there and our people were rushed down
there [along with Navy and Marines and the 11th Airborne] to 'block'
any possible Soviet takeover. Ironically, the Germans, who certainly
had no love for us then, [do things ever change?] suddenly realized
how much money the U.S. military population [and military dependants]
were contributing to the German economy. 'Augsburg', with the almost
complete removal of the 11th Airborne, went into a virtual mini-depression.
Panicked at the thought of losing all that money the German government
in Bonn attempted to pass a resolution 'forbidding' the United States
from removing troops from Germany.[!] This never came to pass, I believe,
but a lot of 'negotiating' ensued out of the resulting mess.

Much of my reporting 'efforts' were, in fact, actually 'propaganda'
in nature and centered around "improving German-American relations".
In this respect, for example, our engineering battalions would perform
'volunteer' construction work on German roads - the G.I.s supplying
effort and equipment and the Germans supplying fuel for the equipment.
To the best of my knowledge we [military] had virtually no involvement
with the French in those days. At that time France was not participating
in NATO, said they had no need for us, and were not exactly 'friendly'
towards U.S. involvement in Europe.

The military situation was such in Europe at that time that the Soviet
Union had more 'paratroopers' alone stationed in the Eastern Block
nations than we had total troops in all of NATO - all participating
countries! It was my estimate back then that had the Russians gone
ahead and made the 'push' they could have completely over-run us in
less than a month. This, by the way, was the primary reason I first
tried out for the Base rifle team - just so I could get my hands on
a decent-conditioned rifle, rather than the rattling pieces of junk
that they kept in the arms racks for us 'administrative types'. This
was a very nervous time in Europe and it was very difficult to tell
how the future was going to play out.

In retrospect I think what really held the Russians back were their
[then] recent memories of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The Russians
had to bring in literally thousands of tanks to quell an uprising
that was armed with little more than Molotov Cocktails, 'rocks', and
a few rifles. I'm sure that the Russians realized that had they attempted
to move forward against us that a good number of the Eastern Block
countries might probably rise up behind them and cut their supply
lines off. It may be, then, that Hungary's 'defeat' was our own salvation.

POST ENGINEERS

Grünstadt US Army fire station, 1950s (Benno Knorr)

Post EngineersKaiserslautern

1. Grünstadt EES Depot

2. Grünstadt EES Depot

The US Army fire stations were typically part of the garrison Post Engineers (Fire Prevenion and Protection Section).

If you have any information on the organization or operations of the fire stations in the Kaiserslautern Garrison area, 1950-1990s, please contact the webmaster (see email link at top of page.)

The WACom communications center here specializes in getting the word just where the Army wants it, and getting it there fast.

The center is the hub of the WACom communications system which handles more than 47,000 messages each month. These messages are received, sent out or relayed to other points during the course of an average day's work.

There are 26 tributary stations within WACom which receive messages directly from WACom Hq, according to Capt Earl E. Eidecker, the communications officer.

"To show how a message is transmitted," he says, "let's assume that our headquarters was to send a message to six subareas. After the message is logged in at the center, a 'poking operator' types the message on a teletype machine which produces a perforated tape and a typewritten copy. Our operators then transmit the tape to the receiving station."

The perforated tape is fed through a machine which transmits the message to a similar machine in the station receiving the message, officials explain.

The center here also acts as a relay station for other stations. Because it is highly impractical to read all incoming relayed messages, each tape on which the messages are handled is monitored and retained for 24 hours. Then it is destroyed, officials point out.

Most messages sent outside the area command are relayed through the Pirmasens relay center, one of the largest in the world.

In addition to the teletype system, the center also operates voice-radio nets and a constant wave net which utilizes international Morse Code. Each of these systems can be operated independently of the others.

1963

(Source: Email from Phillip Cochran)

The USA Signal Service Unit Detachment 5 headquarters was in Panzer Kaserne, Kaiserslautern.
The signal service units were important for their role with the communications of military bases in Germany.

In December 1963 I arrived in Germany under the USAREUR command. I believe in the spring of
1965 we were transferred to the STRATCOM command.

Detachment 5 KSLN consisted of a total
of 4 main Kaserne's: Kaiserslautern Bad Kreuznach Baumholder Pirmasens.

I was first
stationed at Baumholder 1963-1965, then Pirmasens 1965-1966.

Our duties were to maintain and
install telephone communications equipment on base and surrounding area's. Our training was at
Fort Gordon, Georgia at the signal school. My MOS was 322 (telephone installation and repair) than changed to 36B20 later. (321 was linemen
pole climbers, and 322
cable splicers)

We
were trained to work and install field telephones and switchboards, and also regular phones and
installation. I could have been assigned to a infantry signal company or how it was I got assigned to
base support unit. I might add some individuals were with an engineer unit that was assigned on base
working with German nationals as electricians, plumbers and equipment maintenance usually 5 or 6 men.
We had 3 soldiers plus 2 German nationals working in Baumholder and 3 soldiers working in Pirmasens.
I don't know what the arrangements were in Bad Kreuznach or Kaiserslautern.

Baumholder telephone central office was in its own building which wasn't very big compared to other buildings on post. It was separated from tactical units on post across the road from the MP station. I was unaware if they had an engineer unit that worked on base doing various jobs at the different buildings in Baumholder. In Pirmasens they were
billeted with us so that is why I knew the unit existed.

In Baumholder the switchboard had women German nationals working on it. Once in awhile when they were a lot on vacation or sick I was assigned to work on it. The young officers on base always asked us who this one was or that one and what she looked liked. In Pirmasens there was no switchboard so no female operators. We did employ a secretary at Baumholder but not at Pirmasens.
Our central office did employ male German nationals who worked in the the switching frame and battery room.

In 1966 in Pirmasens we removed all German Telefunken and Siemens phones replacing them with american Western Electric phones. I think they were designated TP5 or TP256. Under the dial we put a disc saying "unsecured phone" or something to that effect.

I need to mention that we did not work on phones in dependent housing areas. The German civilian telephone offices (Deutsche Bundespost - DBP) maintained them. The dependent housing was the same in both Baumholder and Pirmasens in regards to phone maintenance although we were required to distribute new phone books through out the dependent housing area.

Also the engineer building our central office was in was under USAREUR while they wore USAREUR patches like me which caused me to get a bunch inoculations while the doctor thought I was going TDY to another country with the engineer outfit but I wasn't leaving Pirmasens.

Back to Baumholder. There was an ASA group that we also supported by working on their phones. They were just off the main post. Whereas Baumholder had a lot of infantry, tank, and artillery, Pirmasens was mainly storage facilities. They had a signal storage area there and if we worked out there we would pick up new tools for our work to use. There were quite a few 3/4 ton trucks stored there. I have to mentioned that a few storage facilities that existed there that I didn't know of. The Clausen chemical gas depot - I was never there so their communications wasn't by normal telephone unless that was built after I left in 1966. Ruppertsweiler I wasn't aware of either. Camp Dahn didn't exist either where the 20th Ordnance Company was located.

Before Dahn there was a small lake Germans had for recreation but farther down the road was a cave we worked in. At first they had guards who escorted you (when entering to do some work); then in end it was used by an electrical test equipment calibration unit with no escorts needed. On the road between Dahn and Rodalben you could see occasionally storage bunkers. There was also off the road a pump stationed we worked at, a small building with inside a telephone switching and wire frame.
Also one area throughout the woods was ammo dumps with no guards or fenced off.

Salzwoog, 56th ADA ( C Battery I believe), we worked at the administration building, also barracks & mess hall was located there too, but I never worked at the launching site or the radar site. I was at D battery once or twice. I also worked at Fischbach: when we went back into the cave after a long walk the guards exchanged their rifles for batons , went thru a gate and escorted us farther to our work location. At Massweiler there waere also guards who escorted us throughout the cave. Massweiler had an interesting elevator system that I saw once.

We also worked frequently at Kreuzberg Kaserne in Zweibrucken where Army and I believe some Air Force personnel were located. Munchweiler hospital we worked frequently there. Hinterweidenthal fuel tank farm we worked out there occasionally. There we had special non-sparking telephones installed out around the depot. They stored gas, diesel and jet fuel that was brought in by pipeline and rail, I was told, for distribution throughout Germany. I have no idea what unit was there but I think it was a AWSCOM unit. Hinterweidenthal had their own barracks and mess hall not far from the tank farm. Also on the road between Dahn and Hinterweidenthal off the road was a barracks and a mess hall that usually was vacant but a couple of times the polish labor service utilized that camp for a few weeks. It may also have been between Hinterweidenthal and Rodalben I can't remember for sure.

I forgot to mention that in Massweiler one of my friends was with the engineer unit and was stationed there with a sergeant to maintain the generators, lighting and other things.

In Pirmasens we worked all over the post but I didn't have a security clearance so places like STRATCOM Signal I couldn't work inside. Our
central office was in the long curved engineer building across from I believe the library or USO building next to the STRACTOM mess hall.

In Baumholder there were
three individuals in our quarters who maintained a microwave communications equipment and tower but I don't
remember their signal unit. We also had the base photographer who also made new ID"s for the military personnel.

In Pirmasens a signal unit under STRATCOM handled communications between the USA and Germany and maybe
all of Europe I can't remember for sure. I understood they used teletype communications. It was a 24 hour 7 day a
week operation with WAC's working with their male counterparts at the installation. They had a large antenna field
hooked up to there system. I can't remember there unit designation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Our signal service unit was just like a Bell
Telephone office in the USA. In Baumholder we had a central office switching frame that was maintained by 4
german nationals and a switchboard with maybe 15 to 20 operators. The switchboard would transfer calls to other
bases, connect military lines to civilian lines and connect calls to and from the USA. Also we were in direct
communications with military command in the USA to alert the base for a maneuver operations. Bells rung and
lights flashed and you had quit whatever you were doing and immediately answer that call, sometimes it was only a
test but you still recorded it.

In Baumholder we worked in the various buildings for the different units repairing there
phones and installing new phone locations and removing old phone installations and fixing their messes when the
field wiremen tried to install a phone. We also had to change wire locations in different main frame rooms around
base for new phone locations or additional lines. I read there were other facilities around Baumholder which I don't
recall working at, namely Hoppstaden airfield, although I remember working at airfield an aifield but I thought it was closer to
Baumholder. Neubrucke hospital - I don't believe I ever went there but others may have. Strassburg Kaserne & Nahbollenbach Army
Depot - I do remember going there to work a few times by Idar-Oberstein. Camp Aulenbach we worked out there
sometimes but usually we had lunch at one of the two gausthaus more often. It was a occasion when you got to
see the different foreign countries military units on maneuvers there. One time a couple of guys had to go over by
Trier I believe to the impact area, was from artillery fire from Camp Aulenbach.

We made occasional trips to Kaiserlautern
Headquarters to pick up payroll and supplies when needed.

1967

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Oct 7, 1967)

The Signal Service Unit Kaiserslautern is one of five units in the 4th Signal Group that provide communications support to the area commands within USAREUR, including operating long-distance military telephone exchanges, a teletype terminal and a high-speed data terminal station in the worldwide STARCOM network.

The unit is commanded by Maj Richard H. Hightower. It consists of five sub-units (exchanges) that each average about 2,000 lines, 19 operators, 4 supervisors and a chief operator and assistant. The transmission lines include AC dial, voice frequency and VF circuits.

427th ARMY BAND

1954

(Source: Email from Robert Busbee, 427th Army Band)

I was stationed in Kaiserslautern in 1954 - 1955 with the 427th Army Band. When I arrived in mid-1954, we were located in Kleber Kaserne. In early 1955, we were relocated to Panzer Kaserne. We provided music for most military ceremonies in Kaiserslautern, as well as Idar-Oberstein, Worms, and many other installations in our sector which I cannot remember. We also made a trip to Huy, Belgium (see photos and article below).

Since I was just a young draftee, this was just a job, and I could hardly wait to get back home and be a civilian again. But looking back, I realize that this was one of the best times of my life, because I got to go places and see things that I would never have otherwise. As I surf the web now, I cannot find anything about the 427th Army Band, its activities, or its personnel during and after my time.

1. The 427th Army Band holds a concert in the town quare of Huy, Belgium (KB)

2. The two band leaders meet before a special mass (KB)

3. MSgt Washington receives a warm reception from the Lord Mayor of Huy for having participated in the liberation of Belgium in 1944 (KB)

4. Historical article in 33rd Armd Band Assn. Newsletter

The WacomAires Dance Band playing at a service club (Stu Gibson)

Members of the 427th Army Band waiting for a train (Stu Gibson)

(Source: Email from Stu Gibson)

Dance Band members

Difficult to know where to begin. Probably giving you much more than you want.

The 427th Army Band was a 28-piece band stationed in Kaiserlautern (K-town). We were the Western Area Command Headquarters Band. We played many military reviews at K-town posts such as Kleber and Vogelweh, but we also spent a lot of time "on the road" providing music for military reviews in outlying posts like Baumholder, and Pirmasens. We also played some civilian events for K-town.

The 28 members were an interesting mix; I can remember at least 15 drafted college grads, a few High School kids, maybe a half dozen career men, a few short-time Regular Army.

We had great quarters on Panzer Kaserne, but pretty lousy rehearsal facilities. Relatively no heat, snow blowing in around the doors or windows, band rehearsing in gloves and overcoats.

Some very successful people in the band from that time (1955-56). Bass drummer Art Graham became a Metropolitan Opera Soloists (as a tenor, not a drummer) in the 1960's. Al Duffy invented and received the US patent on the chain link bass drum pedal. Dave Stokan, a music prof at the University of Texas. Gene Cherico, bass man for (among others) Stan Getz. Ernie Rider, dentist. Gibson, Pales, Don Smith were all HS instrumental music teachers. Sorry, I do not have info on all.

Within the band we developed a Dance band called the WacomAires (for Western Area Command). We played a 15 minute show every week on the Armed Forces Network, with DJ Al Martin as M.C. We also played (in civies) on weekends (for a few $), at the Ramstein Air Force Base Officers Club, and other military clubs in the area. I have attached a couple Dance band pix, I believe taken at a non-com club at Kleber Kaserne, K-town.

The Kleber non com club job was playing for "German American Friendship Night". In the middle of a number, a GI entered, saw his girl with some guy, and a brawl broke out. Tables were turning over, chairs flying and our piano man got hit with a flying beer bottle. We left immediately.

Our bus trips on the cobble stone roads into the mountains were pretty brutal. Pionital (sp?) cysts were a common ailment. An oncoming truck took off our exterior rear view mirror during a head on pass. Another time, coming from Baumholder, an engine cooling fan flew off and severed our brake line. We had one more "uphill" area. Driver geared down and we coasted to a stop.

We were probably on the road 3 or 4 times a week. After about a year of busing, it seemed everyone was worried about being in a wreck. (Remember those rural roads? Very narrow, trees on both sides)

Baumholder was a tank base. Sometimes we would be out in the woods, playing next to an elevated reviewing stand as tanks when by on dirt trails. (not our favorite gig)

On the 4th of July (it was called the "Generals Birthday Party"), we set up ouside of the Generals house and played to the people inside. After we started playing they would close the windows.

The band was kind of hard to handle, mostly stuff I do not want to tell you. But, I remember we had to play for a Little League Game on a Saturday afternoon, and we didn't want to do it. During a break behind the bleachers, the band ran in a circle around the drummers, did a rain dance, threw our hats on the ground and made whooping sounds for a few minutes, then got back in the stands to play -- and it actually rained after another inning.

That's about it for now. I am a retired school music teacher, still play trombone in a couple of big bands. I do some internet searches on band members. Found Fifer, Graham, Waters, Don Smith, Rider, and a few others (Stokan, Duffy, Loess, Ironmonger) that I believe are deceased.

The center supports all units assigned or attached to WACom as well as all lodger units assigned to USAREUR.

Since 1951, the center has increased 85 percent in area -- 11 major structures and an ammunition and storage depot have been constructed. A 100-machine allied trades shop has been established -- this is where basic parts are reclaimed or manufactured for the supply field and maintenance sections.

The center now employs more than 400 German civilians.

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, May 12, 1954)

The Ord Field Shop of the Ordnance Service Center at Panzer Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, formed a "contact team" in April to bring its services to all units in the Western Area Command.

The contact team consists of two automotive mechanics, one small arms repairman and a supply man. The team is equipped to perform third-echelon repairs of not more than two hours per job.

1959

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, Jan 22, 1959)

The WACom Ordnance Service Center at Kaiserslautern is responsible for various tasks such as repairing weapons, rebuilding military vehicles, operating a "country store" and supplying parts to keep the command's 6,000 support vehicles working. CO of the Service Center is COL Ernest R, Gillespie. He has a staff of 10 officers, 28 enlisted men and 432 German civilians.

Stock Records Section - located in a recently modernized building (which doubled the storage space), the section has 8,000 steel bins for storage of ordnance parts.

"Country Store" - patterned after supermarkets, unit supply personnel can go through the store with a shopping cart to gather various parts required by the unit and then check out in the same manner as a supermarket shopper.

Direct Exchange Section - this section stores select fast moving parts such as automobile starters, generators, carburetors and fuel pumps. Unit motor pools use this service to replace spare parts, saving the expense of towing the vehicle to the center and possible loss to the unit while awaiting repairs.

1964

(Source: STARS & STRIPES, April 1, 1964)

The Ordnance Service Center at Kaiserslautern provides maintenance and support for more than 20,000 wheeled vehicles and equipment used in the Kaiserslautern area.
CO of the center is Maj Robert E. Welch.

Among the activities of the ordnance service center is an assembly line repair facility that rebuilds truck axles instead of replacing axles with new equipment shipped from the States. The rebuild program at the center started in February 1963 and has saved the US government over $1 million in the first year of operation. (More than 2,000 axles have been rebuilt in that first year.)

Bill Dean lays down a wreath at the grave of an unknown soldier at the
Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France

1956

(Source: Email from Bill Dean)

I was stationed at Headquarters Western Area Command (HQ WACOM) Panzer Kaserne in Kaiserslautern from August 1956 to August 1957. I was an SP4 assigned to the Publications depot.

While I was there the Russians invaded Hungary. We were never told anything officially except that personnel rotatating back stateside had to go by troop ship because all of the transport planes were used to bring Hungarian refugees to the U S.

Panzer Kaserne was a good duty station. I was stationed in the Personnel Office at Fort Myers, Virginia when I got the orders transferring me to Germany. Left from New York on a troop ship for an eight day voyage to Bremerhaven Germany.

The Publications depot was more of a publications distribution center for WACOM. We had an Army captain, 3 enlisted, and 5 German employees. The main publications depot was in Frankfurt. Once a month I would go with a German driver to Frankfurt to pick up the latest distributions. The first time I went to Frankfurt I was quite surprised that many parts of the downtown district was still bombed out ten years after the war. Even in Kaiserslautern there were streets where houses were destroyed from the bombing.

One weekend I went to visit a friend of mine who was an Army medic stationed in Idar Oberstein which was part of WACOM. The dress code for Panzer Kaserne was informal. Sport shirt, slacks. That is how I was dressed when I went to see my friend. When I got there I was stopped by an MP who wanted to know why I was not wearing a dress shirt, tie, and jacket. When I told him that the dress code at Panzer Kaserne was very relaxed, he said headquarters tells everyone else what to do, but the rules do not apply to them. He said I should borrow a tie and jacket from my friend. Then we both laughed.

The buildings in Panzer Kaserne were beautiful red stone structures. Men and women were stationed there. After the war the area was the old French Zone. The French troops did not take care of the buildings. When the US army took over everything was restored to its original condition.

On Memorial day 1957 they put all of us on buses for a trip to the Lorraine American Cemetery in Saint Avold, France to place wreaths on the graves of unidentified soldiers. I have included a picture of me taken by an Army photographer (above). We all had our pictures taken to send back home. Hard to believe that was 58 years ago. It was a very good duty station.

Army
Posts in Germany, mid 1960s

(Source: Army
Posts Overseas in "Guide to Army Posts," ARMY TIMES,
Stackpole Books, July 1966)

GERMANY

In 1965, military
posts in Germany were reorganized and ten districts were formed under
the US Army Area Command which is located in Munich.

The ten districts, with corresponding headquarters cities, are:

South
Bavaria

Augsburg

North
Bavaria

Nuernberg

North
Wuerttemberg

Stuttgart

North
Baden

Heidelberg

Palatinate

Kaiserslautern

Rhineland

Bad
Kreuznach

Taunus

Frankfurt

Hesse

Giessen

Vogelsberg

Hanau

Franconia

Wuerzburg

Some additional
details on the districts:

South Bavaria

The South Bavaria District covers an area of 21,857 square miles
of Southern Germany. Headquarters of the District is in Augsburg,
APO 09178. Sub-districts are headquartered at Ulm, Munich, Garmisch,
Bad Toelz and Berchtesgaden.

North Bavaria

The
Nurnberg-Furth Enclave was officially established on 17 May
1946. This developed into the Nurnberg-Furth Military Community
in December 1946 and a station complement unit was billeted
in what was then known as Sedan Kaserne in Furth (later redesignated
W.O. Darby Kaserne). The Nurnberg Sub-Area became part of the
Southern Area Command in 1954 and a number of redesignations
followed. From 1959 to 1965, it was known as Nurnberg Post.
After the Northern and Southern Area Commands merged into the
US Army Area Command, the post was designated as Hqs, North
Bavaria District, USAACOM, on 1 July 1965. Within the district
are five sub-districts: Illesheim, Erlangen, Ansbach, Bayreuth
and Bamberg.

North Wurttemberg

North
Wurttemberg District includes Patch Barracks, Robinson Barracks,
Kelley Barracks, Nellingen Kaserne, Flak Kaserne and the Army
hospital at Bad Cannstatt.

North Baden

Headquartered
at Heidelberg (Patton Barracks, APO 09102), the district includes
sub-districts at Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Worms.

Palatinate

The
Palatinate District with headquarters at Panzer Kaserne, APO
09227, encompasses the Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland states of
Germany, and covers an area of about 2,800 square miles. There
has been a headquarters at Kaiserslautern since 1945. Only the
names have been changed, and the boundaries. From 1945 to 1951
it was designated as Headquarters, Western Area Command. In
1951, the name was changed to Rhine Military Post. During a
series of changes in 1959, Northern Area Command was formed
in Frankfurt; Southern Area Command was established in Munich;
and this headquarters became known as Kaiserslautern Post, a
sub-district of Northern Area Command. Northern and Southern
Area Commands were welded into a single headquarters in July
1964, but Kaiserslautern Post retained its designation until
July 1965, when it was redesignated as Palatinate District.
On that date, the headquarters absorbed the Pirmasens area to
attain its present size.

Pirmasens (Sub-)Post opened on 6 July 1961.

Rhineland

Headquarters
of the Rhineland District is in Bad Kreuznach, APO 09252. BK
opened on 12 June 1951 and became headquarters of the Rhineland
District in 1965. Sub-districts are at Mainz and Baumholder.

Taunus

Headquarters
of the Taunus District are at Frankfurt, APO 09757. The District's
mission is to provide logistical support and recreational facilities
for about 40,000 dependents, civilian employees and military
personnel. Frankfurt Post includes the Frankfurt and Darmstadt
areas, with the main headquarters behind the IG Farben Building.
It includes Gutleut Kaserne, 3804 Kaserne, Drake-Edwards Kaserne,
Gibbs Kaserne, McNair Kaserne in Hoechst and Camp Eschborn.

Hesse

Headquarters, Taunus District is located on Pendleton Barracks,
APO 09169. This post served as a German artillery kaserne during
World War II. Before the kaserne was constructed, the area around
Pendleton was known as the Philosophenwald. In 1947, the community
was known as Giessen Military Post. Since that time, it has
been renamed Giessen Sub-Post, Giessen Detachment, Giessen Sub-area,
Giessen Post, and now Hesse District.

Kassel (Rothwesten Kaserne) is a sub-district of Hesse District.

Vogelsberg

Headquarters
of the Vogelsberg District is located on Pioneer Kaserne, Hanau,
APO 09165. The district extends into nine counties (Kreise)
of Hesse and five counties of Bavaria. Elements of the Seventh
Army, V Corps, VII Corps and the 3rd Armd Div are also stationed
at Gelnhausen and Buedingen, Fulda, Wildflecken, Bad Kissingen
and Bad Hersfeld.

Franconia
District includes Leighton Barracks, Emery Barracks, Hindenburg
Kaserne and Faulenberg Kaserne. The post was activated on 15
March 1947. In October 1952, it was redesignated as the Wurzburg
Military District, consisting of the geographical area encompassed
by various landkreise of Land Bavaria. As a result of a survey
completed in late 1953, the Wurzburg Military District was reorganized
on 1 March 1954, into three sub-areas: Wurzburg, Schweinfurt
and Bamberg. On 1 April 1958, the Wurzburg Sub-Area was reorganized
and redesignated as Wurzburg Post. The most recent change in
the organizational structure became effective on 1 July 1965,
when Wurzburg Post was redesignated Franconia District.

The following
posts are not included in the US Army Area Command organization:

Bremerhaven POE

The US Port was established by the Army on 7 June 1945. Officially
named the US Army Port of Embarkation, Bremerhaven, on 1 January
1957, the port continued to operate as a major command of USAREUR
until 1 July 1960, at which time it was placed under the administrative
control and operations of Headquarters, US Army Communications
Zone, Europe. Bremerhaven POE became the US Army Terminal Command,
Europe (USATCEUR) on 1 May 1964.

Berlin Command

Seventh Army Training Center

The
Training Center includes the Grafenwohr, Vilseck and Hohenfels
areas. The Training Center constitutes the largest training
area available to US forces in Europe: Grafenwohr & Vilseck
training area - 56,560 acres; Hohenfels training area - 40,032
acres. Vilseck Camp was not used for training (by US forces)
until May 1947, when the 370th and 371st Infantry Battalions
trained at Grafenwohr. In June 1951, it became the Seventh Army
Tank Training Center with headquarters in Vilseck. In 1959,
the entire Grafenwohr reservation, which included Grafenwohr
and Vilseck sub-posts, was redesignated as one training center,
the Seventh Army Training Center (7ATC) with headquarters at
the Grafenwohr Post. The Vilseck installation became the Seventh
Army Combined Arms School. At the same time, the Hohefels training
area was assigned to 7ATC.